A 36-year-old Kent man and his estranged wife each pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of first-degree rape of a child.
Brian Keith Beston, of Kent, and Hollie Christine Beston, 31, of Burien, entered the pleas at King County Superior Court in Seattle, a King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesman said.
Brian and Hollie Beston also have been charged with first-degree child molestation, sexual exploitation of a minor and dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to charging papers. The child is 4 years old.
The two are in custody at the county jail in Seattle, each on $500,000 bail.
The prosecutor’s office alleges Hollie Beston filmed Brian Beston sexually assaulting the girl, and the images reportedly were sent over the Internet to a man in San Diego.
Seattle Police arrested the couple Oct. 23 after the FBI forwarded information to the officers about a case involving Richard Hockaday, a 38-year-old man facing child-molestation charges in San Diego.
Hockaday told federal investigators that he met the couple over the Internet through a Craigslist advertisement when he posed as a single mother who wanted to meet other single parents in Seattle or San Diego.
According to charging papers, Brian Beston responded to the ad through e-mail and introduced Hollie Beston to Hockaday through e-mail and instant messaging.
Hollie Beston is scheduled to return to court Nov. 24 for a hearing while Brian Beston is scheduled for a Dec. 8 court appearance. A trial date could be set at those hearings or attorneys from either side could ask for more time to prepare the case.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
