A man who identifies as transgender has admitted to sexually assaulting two female volunteers at a local food bank. Graeme Beck, 53, who also uses the name Jane Beck, targeted the women for abuse while working in the kitchen in the cities of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, between 2021 and 2022. Additionally, Beck also admitted to having exposed his penis to coworkers in a separate incident.
Beck was also accused of repeatedly assaulting a 13-year-old girl but entered a plea of not guilty to the charge relating to that allegation, The Scottish Sun reported. He will return to court in April.
Beck was set to go on trial on Thursday, February 23, facing four charges total but instead decided to plead guilty to three of the four counts — including two of sexual assault and one of offending public decency.
The court heard how Beck began to frighten the female volunteers at the Fed Up Community Cafe at Stranraer Baptist Church, a facility for adults struggling with alcohol and drug dependencies and financial problems. The sexual incidents began in October of 2021, when Beck was a patron of the services at the food bank.
In November of 2021, Beck began volunteering in the kitchen, and was afforded more close contact with some of the female volunteers, including the one he’d already harassed.
Imran Hussein, prosecuting, told the court that the first victim said that “Beck was nice to her at the beginning,” but quickly began to develop a habit of touching her without her consent. She explained that Beck grabbed her by the arm, and, when she asked what he was doing, replied “just a wee bit of Strictly,” in a reference to the television program Strictly Come Dancing.
On other occasions, Beck would approach the woman from behind and “slide [his] body against the back of the complainer,” according to the prosecutor.
Hussein added: “It was full physical contact – it was deliberate, sexually motivated and the complainer developed a genuine fear of the accused.”
Despite the sexual nature of the crimes, Hussein used “she/her” pronouns to refer to Beck in his statements to the court.
A second female volunteer told the court that Beck had sexually groped her during what she had thought would be nothing more than a friendly hug. As she moved away, she said the behavior constituted “sexual harassment.” Beck laughed in response, and the woman reported the incident to the police.
In a separate incident related to his work with cosmetics company Avon, the court was told how Beck would participate in weekly conference calls from his home in Stranraer with colleagues between October and December 2021.
“The accused would wear a loosely tied dressing gown with nothing on underneath,” said Hussein. “The accused was warned on several occasions in relation to her attire by one of the complainers. On at least two occasions, the accused’s camera slipped, exposing her penis which was seen by other members,” Hussein said, using feminine pronouns to refer to Beck despite describing his genitals.
Beck, originally from Leeds, had been previously jailed for two years in 2008 after sexually assaulting a sleeping woman he met through volunteer work conducted through a Christian organization.
The woman, who began to trust him, had allowed him to sleep on her couch, and was horrified to discover that he had climbed into her bed, completely nude, before attempting to rape her.
When Beck appeared in court in August 2008, his lawyer Robert Campbell claimed: “It could have been worse.”
Speaking to the Ayrshire Post during the court case, the victim said: “His lawyer said in court that it could have been worse. How could it have been worse? That is a ludicrous statement. I thought I was going to die. I was attacked in my own home, the place where I should be most safe.”
Campbell further attempted to argue that the victim was to blame, having allowed Beck back into her home the following day.
The victim blasted Beck’s lawyer in press, stating the defender had gotten the facts of the case completely incorrect: “How mad would I have to be to do that after what happened? That is factually incorrect … He ran off to Leeds the next day, where he was arrested. I had police and forensics teams in my house the whole day,” she said.
“It was also claimed in court that he left when I asked him to. Again, that isn’t true. I had to fight for my life to get him off me. He had his hand on my throat, I thought I would never see my children again.”
Beck had told the woman that he was unable to return to his own residence to sleep, claiming he had allowed another person to stay the night there.
“He tried to make out in court that we were in a relationship,” the victim told the press. “I had never been alone with this man before. I didn’t want to have him sleeping over in my house but as an act of kindness, I let him.”
“I’ve been through hell,” she added at the time, foreshadowing the most recent attacks by stating: “He is evil and I believe he will strike again.”
For the 2008 attack, he was placed on the sex offenders’ registrar for a term of 10 years, but his name would have been removed in 2018. Since pleading guilty to three of the more recent sex offenses he was charged with, Beck has been re-added to the register ahead of his anticipated sentencing in April. He has also been referred for a criminal justice social work report and risk assessment.
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