Nanticoke man sentenced to prison time after child sex guilty plea
Mar. 3—WILKES-BARRE — A Nanticoke man will be spending between five and 15 years behind bars after being sentenced on a child sex charge on Tuesday.
Martin Beck, 53, appeared before Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough for sentencing, joined by public defender Enid Wolfe Harris.
Before Beck's sentencing, Vough heard testimony from Paula Brust, a member of the Sexual Offender Assessment Board, over whether or not Beck should be classified as a sexually violent predator.
Charges against Beck initially were filed in April 2019 after a woman came to Newport Township Police to say that her daughter had been touched inappropriately by Beck.
During an interview with the Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center, the girl told investigators that Beck would touch her "a lot," suggesting it happened on multiple occasions.
Court records show Beck pleaded guilty to a single felony count of aggravated indecent assault of a child last June.
During her testimony, Brust said Beck meets the criteria for the mental abnormality of pedophilic disorder, pointing to an interview with police where he allegedly suggested the girl, 9 at the time, had initiated the encounter.
Brust also said that another one of the woman's daughters made similar accusations against Beck, but Harris pointed out that no charges had been filed in connection with those accusations.
Vough ultimately agreed with Assistant District Attorney Shana Messinger's request that Beck be deemed a sexually violent predator.
While Harris had asked for some leniency, saying that Beck dealt with health issues like HIV and dementia caused by strokes — "Not to be cynical, but whatever sentence you give him, he is unlikely to live through it," she said of her client — Vough ordered Beck to spend between 60 and 180 months, or five to 15 years, in a state prison.
Beck was remanded to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility to await transfer to the Department of Corrections.
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