Babysitter's adult sons arrested in continual sexual abuse of child

Police: A number of other children could have been abused

December 1, 2017 at 5:58 p.m. | Updated December 1, 2017 at 8:58 p.m.

by Gazette Staff

Ricky Beckom, left, and Greggory Beckom of Texarkana, Texas, were arrested in late November 2017 on charges of continual sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 for allegedly forcing a child their mother was babysitting to perform sexual acts repeatedly over four years starting in 2007.
Ricky Beckom, left, and Greggory Beckom of Texarkana, Texas, were arrested in late November 2017 on charges of continual sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 for allegedly forcing a child their mother was babysitting to perform sexual acts repeatedly over four years starting in 2007.

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Photo by Bobby Ampezzan

Tim Gallagher and Bobby Harrison sit inside the Brinkley McDonald’s before a stack of books, including Gallagher’s The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

Two brothers have been arrested on charges of continuous sexual abuse of a victim younger than 14.

Ricky Beckom, 40, and Greggory Beckom, 37, were arrested by Texarkana, Texas, police in the crimes that allegedly happened from 2007 to 2011, said Shawn Vaughn, spokesman for TTPD.

Officers were notified of the abuse after the now-14-year-old victim confided information about the sexual abuse to her mother, police said. The victim reportedly said that when she was 4 to 8 years old, Ricky Beckom and Greggory Beckom individually forced her to perform sexual acts on numerous occasions. The assaults allegedly occurred at the Beckom home while the suspects' mother babysat her. Both men were living with their mother at the time, according to officials.

After conducting a criminal investigation, Detective Tabitha Smith arrested both men on Nov. 15, Vaughn said.

The investigation revealed that Beckom's mother cared for a number of children in the same time frame, the spokesman said, and investigators have reason to believe that some of those other children also may have been sexually abused.

Anyone whose child may have been a victim is urged to call police at 903-798-3116.

Ricky Beckom and Greggory Beckom remain custody at the Bi-State Justice Building jail. Bond for both men was set at $150,000.

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