Rape suspect charged in porn case

TEXARKANA — A man facing a state charge of rape in Miller County Circuit Court has been indicted in federal court in the production and possession of child pornography.

Michael Ray Beam, 30, was arrested in October 2020 by the Miller County sheriff’s office in the rape of a 13-year-old girl. The case against Beam began with an investigation by police in Wake Village, Texas, into online solicitation of a minor, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Beam is accused of threatening to kill the girl he met on social media if she “snitched” on him and threatening to stop giving her food and money if she didn’t comply with his requests for sexually oriented photos and videos. The girl allegedly described being sexually assaulted by Beam at a location in Texarkana.

Beam appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas for arraignment on a four-count indictment charging him with three counts of production of child pornography and a count of possession of child pornography. Beam pleaded innocent.

Count one alleges that Beam enticed or coerced a 13-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of creating a visual depiction of the conduct in December 2019. Counts two and three allege that Beam coerced a 15-year-old girl to produce sexually explicit images in May and July of 2020.

Count four alleges that Beam possessed images of child pornography, including some involving children under 12 in September 2020.

Beam’s federal public defender waived the issue of detention at his arraignment hearing Tuesday. He is being held in the Miller County jail.