County to press charges against principal

Jace Radke

Thursday, May 10, 2001 | 10:39 a.m.

Clark County prosecutors have decided to pursue charges against the principal accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl before he is extradited to Indiana to face federal charges stemming from her abduction.

William A. Beith, 28, was scheduled to make his initial appearance on state charges this morning. The hearing has been postponed until Friday.

Beith, a former Baptist school principal in Indiana, remains in Nevada after a U.S. magistrate ordered Wednesday that he be held without bail.

Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Herndon his office will pursue charges here, because they carry more serious consequences than the federal charges.

If convicted in Nevada, Beith would face five years to life on charges of first-degree kidnapping, 20 years to life on charges of sex assault and 10 years to life on charges of lewdness.

Beith faces federal charges of coercing and enticing a minor, transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes and kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of the girl from a Wal-Mart parking lot on May 1, FBI officials said.

Beith made a first appearance on the federal charges Wednesday.

Beith, 28, entered Magistrate Peggy Leen's courtroom just before 3 p.m. He wore a blue Clark County Jail jumpsuit and leg shackles after being arrested Tuesday by a Metro Police officer, who spotted Beith and the 11-year-old Gary, Ind., girl with whom he is accused of abducting and having sexual relations.

Herndon said a hearing next week will determine where the girl will live until the case goes to trial. She has alleged that family members molested her.

Nevada is the first state to file charges against him in this case, though any state in which Beith had sex with the girl could also prosecute him. Herndon said the girl has alleged that Beith had sex with her throughout the trip.

During his appearance at the Lloyd D. George Federal building, Beith, wearing a goatee and hair that looked to have been recently combed, had a short conversation with Danice Johnson, an assistant federal public defender, before Leen entered the room.

Beith waived his right to an identity hearing and, when Leen asked if he had confessed to charges contained in a sealed complaint, Beith answered, "Yes, ma'am."

Beith was arrested in the 4600 block of Boulder Highway Tuesday morning. The arrest ended a week-long hunt for the missing girl, who Beith met while principal of the Liberty Baptist Academy in Lake Station, Ind., about 40 miles southeast of Chicago. The pair are believed to have made their way across the country, possibly making stops in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Oklahoma before arriving in Las Vegas.

They had been staying at a Super 8 Motel on Tuesday and stayed between midnight and 8 a.m., where prosecutors allege Beith had sex with her. They had checked into the Budget Suites, where they had planned to live, prosecutors say, shortly before Beith's arrest.

Beith was arrested in 1990 and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after being caught partially undressed with a 15-year old girl, but those charges were dismissed after he underwent counseling.

The girl was taken to Sunrise Medical Center to be evaluated Tuesday, and she has been staying at a shelter for children.

The Associated Press and the Gary, Ind. Post Tribune

contributed to this story.

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