The Dallas Police Department (DPD) announced on Friday that it had arrested a man on one charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
William Rex Beckham, 34, is currently being held on a $1 million bond at the Dallas County Jail, according to jail records.
DPD’s Child Exploitation Unit received a tip on Tuesday, May 9, that a child had been sexually assaulted, and a preliminary investigation identified Beckham as the prime suspect. He was arrested on Thursday.
“This remains an ongoing investigation and detectives believe there could be more victims. Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Raungi Jones at 214-671-4331,” said DPD.
Beckham had a documented criminal history before his most recent arrest this week. According to court records, he was arrested by Dallas police officers back in February 2021 and charged with several crimes tied to a traffic stop in Council Member Chad West’s District 1, during which officers allegedly found him to be in possession of marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine.
He was also charged with unlawful possession of a handgun because he had a prior felony conviction for aggravated assault in Howard County.
Beckham got credit for time served in jail while awaiting resolution on the 2021 drugs and weapon charges. Additionally, he was sentenced to five years of probation, which he subsequently violated multiple times.
Court records suggest that he allegedly assaulted a peace officer in the Central Texas town of Kyle and later was found in possession of drugs again in October 2022 in Wise County.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot’s office initially filed to revoke Beckham’s probation because he allegedly violated his probation conditions. However, Creuzot’s office then rescinded its filing after a district judge added a mental health treatment requirement to the conditions of his probation.
He was released from police custody in late January of 2023 but allegedly made his way back to Dallas County Jail in less than four months on the aggravated sexual assault of a child charge.
As of May 2, the City of Dallas had recorded 202 sex-related offenses in 2023, according to the crime analytics dashboard. Crime data is currently not up to date as the City continues to recover from the ransomware attack.
