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Andrea Beck sentenced for Class C felony facilitation of prostitution

Andrea Beck, 37, Morristown, Tenn., originally charged with Class A felony human trafficking, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in district court in Minot to a reduced charge of Class C felony facilitation of prostitution.

Judge Stacy Louser sentenced her to 18 months in prison, all suspended but the 136 days Beck has already served, and two years of unsupervised probation. Louser also ordered Beck to have no contact with the victim in the case and to pay $1,290 in court costs and restitution.

According to court documents and statements made at past court hearings, Beck and Richard Hugh Spain, 46, had been accused of trafficking a woman who worked as a prostitute at hotels in Minot between May and June 2017.

The woman, who was born in 1977, told authorities that she used to buy meth and marijuana from Beck when they lived in the same city. Beck paid for a bus ticket for the woman to come to Fargo. The woman had thought about looking for work as a waitress, but never actually submitted applications. She stayed with Beck and Spain at a hotel in Fargo. About two weeks later, Beck told the woman she would have to work as a prostitute to pay for her share of the hotel bill and the drugs she used. Beck placed notices on Backpage.com advertising the woman’s services and set up the dates. The woman charged between $120 and $220 per encounter, depending on its length, and saw up to five men per day. She turned over the thousands of dollars she made to Beck and Spain, who provided her with food, drugs and room and board. The encounters took place in Fargo, Minot, Williston, and Tioga. In Minot, the woman saw men at the Dakota Inn, Candlewood Suites, Holiday Inn Riverside and the Grand Hotel. Beck rented the hotel rooms. Spain allegedly transported her to and from the encounters and collected the money after they were over.

The woman had gone to a shelter in Williston but later returned to Beck and Spain. She eventually went to the domestic violence shelter in Minot, where police investigated a complaint she made about her EBT card being stolen. The officer who interviewed her thought human trafficking had been going on and the human trafficking charge was filed against Beck and Spain. The woman is now living in a shelter for human trafficking victims in another state, the prosecutor told Judge Louser in court on Wednesday.

The Class A felony carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Beck would also have been required to register as a sex offender. The Class C felony charge does not carry a registration requirement.

Spain was also charged with Class A felony human trafficking. Court records show that a change of plea hearing has been scheduled for him today in district court before Judge Louser.

Beck is now to be transferred to McKenzie County, where she faces two Class C felony charges of possession of a controlled substance, three Class A misdemeanor charges of tampering with physical evidence, false information to law enforcement, and possession of drug paraphernalia and three Class B misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license.

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