SEATTLE — A man convicted of raping three women in Seattle was sentenced Friday to more than 33 years in prison.
Christopher Beck, 30, targeted women who advertised for erotic massages or who had wanted to sell panties. In all cases, the women knew some of their activity was illegal, yet still felt compelled to contact police, according to the King County Prosecutor’s office.
When Beck and his attorney told the judge that his actions were not predatory, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Hugh Barber said, “Are you kidding me? He sought these victims for a reason that became glaringly apparent during their testimony at trial, and for which there is no other explanation than but the one. He figured they would never tell.”
Beck continued to tell the judge he was innocent.
“I never intended to harm anybody. I was – my actions were to solicit prostitutes, and that’s what I did. I angered them, and I made them upset with me, but I never raped them. I never took advantage of them sexually,” Beck said.
But Judge Theresa Doyle said that during trial testimony, the women said Beck had terrorized them. Beck was also convicted of robbing one of his victims.
According to court documents, Beck raped one of his victims at her apartment after she had advertised for an erotic massage. Another victim met him at the Westin Hotel, where she also conducted erotic massages to supplement her regular job of disaster claims adjustment.
Barber said that woman waited about an hour to call the police, knowing what she could be losing by reporting the crime.
“What was going through her head is ‘I could lose everything. My employer can find out what I’m doing, and I’ll lose my job. My parents can find out what I’m doing,’” Barber said.
In a third case, Barber said the victim was a homeless heroin addict who was desperate for money and tried to sell her panties.
Doyle said, “It doesn’t matter that the victims are sex workers. They are treated as any other victim, and they’re accorded the same right to be free of violence.”
The King County Prosecutor said the state’s Indeterminate Sentence Review Board has the option of adding more time to increase the sentence to life in prison for individuals convicted of violent sex crimes.
KIRO
