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A former University of Montana student was sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail, and six years in prison, suspended, for raping two students in the fall of 2021. Missoula District Court Judge Jason Marks agreed to follow the sentencing recommendations reached in the plea deal by the defense and prosecution, but added that he did “not believe that the sentence agreed upon is appropriate for the nature of the crimes in this case.” Andrew P.
Beckett entered Alford pleas to two counts of felony sexual intercourse without consent in June under a plea deal with prosecutors. Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to gain a conviction. Andrew Beckett listens during a hearing at the Missoula County Courthouse on Friday, Aug.
2, 2024. Beckett was sentenced on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, to 30 days in jail and six years in prison, suspended, for raping two students in the fall of 2021.
Under a suspended sentence, Beckett won’t have to serve the prison sentence if he remains law-abiding for that six-year period. But Marks cautioned that if Beckett violates the terms of his release, “I will be more than happy to impose what I think is an appropriate sentence for this offense if you come before me again.” The two counts carry a combined maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and $100,000 in fines.
Beckett’s defense attorney, Peter Lacny, noted that his client had no prior felonies and a psychosexual evaluation had classified him as a “tier one” offender — meaning he was determined less likely to reoffend. Beckett sexually abused the two women on separate dates in September 2021 on UM’s campus, according to court documents. On Sept.
8, 2021, the first survivor met Beckett, who was an acquaintance and classmate of hers. When the two were hanging out, Beckett expressed that he wanted to have sex. The woman thought this was awkward because there was a third person in the room, according to the case document.
She told Beckett “I don’t want to” and “no” several times. He then raped her, according to charging documents. Ten days later, a second woman saw Beckett at the Badlander Bar in downtown, prosecutors alleged.
She agreed to let Beckett stay the night in her dorm room in Panzer Hall, also on the UM campus. While they were together in her dorm, he raped her, court documents state. The two survivors previously provided victim impact statements to the court during his change-of-plea hearing earlier this year.
“I was left to put myself back together, to grapple with an unprecedented lack of autonomy over my body, my time, my emotional resources, while attending full-time school in a place where I didn’t know anyone,” one of the women said. Judge Jason Marks listens during a hearing for Andrew Beckett at the Missoula County Courthouse on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024.
Despite his reticence to follow the plea deal’s sentencing recommendations, Marks said he was swayed by survivors’ letters asking him to accept the agreement. “I certainly understand the reasons why this is the better outcome for them,” he said, “not having to go through the trauma of a trial, the attendant uncertainty.” Deputy County Attorney Andrea Haney, the prosecutor, also spoke to the toll the case took on the survivors, noting that at one point around 200 people who had been present at a party had been subpoenaed.
Beckett briefly addressed the court, expressing his wish that the judge follow the plea deal recommendations. “I will do whatever and the best I can in probation,” he added. Both women were also present by video for Friday’s sentencing, although no family members for any of the parties were physically present in the courtroom.
Haney and Lacny briefly questioned the two women to help Marks determine the financial restitution Beckett owes the survivors. Marks required that Beckett pay one of the survivors $14,000 for tuition costs after the woman wasn’t able to complete several classes due to the duress she suffered after the assault. He must also pay $6,300 to the other survivor.
The restitution also includes the costs of counseling and other expenses. Beckett will also be required to register as a sex offender and undergo counseling. At the end of the hearing, Beckett was taken to the Missoula County jail to serve his 30-day sentence.
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