Man jailed for indecently harassing women denied bail, accused of starting anew one day after release

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This article was published 29/04/2025 (183 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Manitoba man is back in custody, accused of criminally harassing a dozen women, including a police officer, starting just one day after he was released from jail for doing the exact same thing.

Alexander Beaton, 29, was denied bail Monday morning following a hearing before provincial court Judge Stacy Cawley.

“I’ll be frank,” Cawley said. “In my view, I have no confidence that Mr. Beaton will comply with any conditions that I impose on him today. I’m very concerned about public safety. I’m very concerned about (the safety of) females, generally.”

In May 2024, Beaton was sentenced to two years custody after admitting to criminally harassing and sending pictures of his penis to six women, some of whom he met at job-assistance agencies.

Court heard Beaton was released from custody Dec. 3 and within a day was allegedly reoffending. Over the course of four months, ending with his arrest earlier this month, Beaton is alleged to have criminally harassed and sent “indecent communications” to several more women, with 12 eventually making complaints of harassment.

Beaton’s alleged victims include three women he was previously convicted of harassing and two identified as “justice system participants.”

“This appears to be increasing in frequency,” Crown attorney Keri Anderson told Cawley. “What is increasingly disturbing is… the nature of the messages he is sending” which, in some instances, include references to pedophilia.

One alleged victim reported receiving unwanted obscene messages from Beaton beginning in 2021, continuing until his recent arrest.

“She told him to stop contacting her and it only seemed to encourage him further,” Anderson said.

Another woman alleged Beaton had, until March 2024, sent her unwanted emails and videos every couple of months for about nine years that showed him masturbating. At some point, he allegedly went on to target the woman’s mother.

Beaton allegedly sent an email picture of his penis to a group of women that included a Winnipeg police officer.

Several of the victims alleged Beaton called them on the phone and could be heard masturbating. Several messages allegedly sent by Beaton included explicit comments disparaging himself sexually.

The fact that his alleged victims included two members of the justice system suggested he wanted to be caught, argued defence lawyer Mark Packulak.

“I don’t think it’s out of line to speculate that this may be an individual’s cry for help,” he said. “These are complainants one would not pick if they were trying to get away with (it).”

Packulak said Beaton’s actions coincided with occasions when he was abusing drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of trauma he experienced earlier in life.

“I think there is reason to believe that Mr. Beaton does not want this to be a pattern in his life, he wants the help to get rid of it,” the lawyer said.

Packulak proposed a bail plan that would include monitoring Beaton with an electronic ankle bracelet, a prohibition on possessing a cellphone or computer and observing an absolute curfew.

Cawley said the conditions provided her no assurance Beaton would not reoffend.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca