Accused Rapist, Fugitive Returned To Dothan
By: Ken Curtis
Updated: May 11, 2012
A man who fled Dothan presumably to avoid prosecution on sex and other charges has been returned more than five years later to stand trial.
Mark Anthony Beecham, 24, was brought to the Houston County Jail late last week from Florida where is serving prison time for the sexual assault and kidnaping of a Florida A&M student in early 2007. The attack occurred just weeks after Beecham fled prosecution in Dothan. He was arrested in Tallahassee by a violent crimes task force. Florida prison records show he was sentenced in 2008 to at least 30 years behind bars.
Under a Florida court order, Beecham was returned to Alabama where he will be tried for several sex and other charges. Court records show trial is scheduled for June. It's not immediately known if he will be sent back to Florida following trial in Dothan.
Beecham faces two counts of Rape, three counts of Sodomy, and a single count of Kidnapping and Theft of Property each. The cases were made after an investigation by the Dothan Police Department. Circuit Judge Kevin Moulton has been assigned the case.
