Conway Man, 20, Charged With Recording Sex With 14-Year-Old He Met At Park; Police Say He Threatened To Kill Her

CONWAY, Ark. – A 20-year-old Conway man is being held on a $500,000 bond on charges he had sex with a 14-year-old girl dozens of times over the summer, recorded it on their phones and threatened to kill her when she tried to end the relationship, court records show.

Robert Ellis Beckman was charged Sept. 9 in Faulkner County Circuit Court with producing a sexual performance by a child and engaging a child in sexually explicit conduct for use in visual media, both Class Y felonies punishable by 10 to 40 years or life in prison. He is also charged with traveling for the purpose of an unlawful sex act with a minor, a Class B felony, first-degree terroristic threatening, fourth-degree sexual assault and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The case came to Conway police Sept. 2, according to an arrest warrant affidavit by Detective Smith. In a forensic interview, the girl said she met Beckman at Gatling Park near the end of May through a mutual friend. He told her he was 16, and she told him she was 14, the affidavit said.

When they met at the park again in June, Beckman brought marijuana for her to smoke and tried to put his hands down her pants, but she stopped him, the girl told investigators.

After that, Beckman began riding his bicycle from Eagle Suites on Skyline Drive, where he lived, to her home in the middle of the night, and she would let him in through her bedroom window, the affidavit said. The girl estimated they had sex about 30 times between June and August. She said Beckman pressured her into it and gave her marijuana and alcohol.

Beckman recorded their sexual encounters using both her phone and his, and some of the videos were made on Snapchat and possibly saved to her account, the girl said.

She told police she learned from Beckman’s Snapchat account in late August that he was actually 19. Beckman turned 20 on July 15, during the relationship, according to a search warrant affidavit. When she tried to break up with him, he threatened to kill himself and then threatened to kill her, saying he had a plan to kill her and dispose of her body if she left him, the affidavit said. She told police she had seen photos of Beckman holding guns and believed he would hurt her.

After she blocked him, Beckman created new Snapchat accounts to keep threatening her, according to the affidavit.

A forensic extraction of the girl’s phone turned up multiple images and videos of the two engaged in sex acts, Smith wrote. In one video, Beckman is holding the phone and recording himself, and the detective wrote that she identified him by his tattoos, which she later confirmed in person.

Officers found Beckman at Eagle Suites and took him into custody. After being read his rights, Beckman confirmed meeting the girl at the park and riding his bicycle to her home at night, entering through her window or front door, the affidavit said. He claimed he thought she was 18 but later learned she was 14, and he admitted he continued having sex with her and knowingly recorded it after learning her age, according to the affidavit. He said the two smoked marijuana together but claimed she supplied it and asked him to roll it.

Circuit Judge Troy Braswell signed a search warrant Sept. 10 for two Snapchat accounts belonging to the girl, seeking photos, videos and messages from May 1 through Sept. 4. The affidavit said the accounts may hold the recordings, conversations about their ages and the threats. Snap Inc. returned a digital data package, according to a return filed Tuesday.

At his first appearance, a judge set Beckman’s bond at $500,000 secured and ordered that, if released, he must wear an electronic monitor restricted to his home, submit to random drug screens and have no internet-capable devices. He is barred from parks, schools, playgrounds, day cares and other places where children gather, may not possess firearms and may have no contact with the girl or her immediate family.

Beckman was booked into the Faulkner County jail Sept. 4 and remained there Wednesday, according to the jail roster. He was found indigent and appointed a public defender. A status hearing on the charges is set for 11 a.m. Oct. 19 before Braswell.