BOZEMAN — A convicted murderer who was granted clemency last November is under increased probation restrictions after he reportedly sexually propositioned a 12-year-old girl, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.
The intensity of Barry Beach’s supervision increased in January, soon after the girl’s mother went to police, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Judy Beck told the newspaper. Additional restrictions went into effect on Oct. 5, weeks after Billings city prosecutors determined there was not enough evidence to file misdemeanor charges over the alleged encounter, Beck said.
Beach, 54, now has to wear a GPS monitor, has increased travel restrictions and has a 10 p.m. curfew, 11 p.m. on weekends. He must report to his probation officer at least three times per month, Beck said.
Beach did not immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press Thursday seeking comment.
Beach served more than 30 years of a 100-year prison term for the 1979 murder of Kimberly Nees in Poplar, which happened when Beach was 17. He was convicted in 1983 and has maintained his innocence.
Beach was temporarily freed from prison in 2011 when a retrial was ordered but sent back 18 months later by the state Supreme Court. Last November, Gov. Steve Bullock granted him clemency, which required Beach to be on probation for 10 years.
Beach was accused of picking up the girl in his vehicle after she ran away from a center for troubled youth on Jan. 10. He reportedly asked her to touch him and if he could touch her. The girl told him no and Beach later dropped her off about a half-block from her house, according to a police report based on the complaint.
The girl’s mother, who does not have custody of her, filed a report with Billings police on Jan. 13.
Beach declined to comment about the case in July after Yellowstone County prosecutors decided not to file a felony charge.
“I think it’s just too delicate on everybody’s behalf,” he told the AP at the time.