Winnipeg Man Receives Seven Years for Harassing Women

A Winnipeg man who resumed sexually harassing women just two days after leaving prison for similar offenses has received a seven-year sentence. Alexander Beaton, 30, targeted nearly a dozen women with unsolicited sexual messages and videos, including four victims he had previously been convicted of harassing, according to court proceedings reported by the Winnipeg Free Press.

Provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald imposed the sentence after hearing evidence that Beaton restarted his conduct on Dec. 5, 2024, following his release from custody on Dec. 3. Beaton had just completed a two-year prison sentence for criminally harassing six women.

McDonald described the repeated offenses as deliberate and persistent, noting that Beaton continued contacting women despite an existing probation order. The judge also highlighted the serious effects on victims, including concerns about their personal safety.

McDonald said Beaton's conduct demonstrated a sustained disregard for legal restrictions.

"His behaviour was calculated, targeted and persistent (and) was brazenly in defiance of an existing (probation) order," provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald said Friday.

The judge emphasized the severity of the case compared with other offenses of the same nature.

"It is safe to say Mr. Beaton ranks among the worst offenders committing the worst offences of this nature," McDonald said.

Evidence presented in court showed that Beaton contacted women from several parts of his life, including employees at job training centers he had previously attended, a former co-worker, a childhood friend, a lawyer and a police officer who had investigated his earlier offenses.

One childhood friend testified that the harassment continued for nearly a decade, ending in December 2024. After reconnecting with her through Facebook, Beaton sent a video depicting sexual activity involving himself and an image of the woman. He continued sending sexually explicit messages and videos over the years.

In 2024, Beaton also directed unwanted sexual material at the woman's mother, sending her a video depicting sexual activity involving himself and a picture of her daughter.

Between 2020 and 2025, Beaton repeatedly targeted female employees at a city job center with sexually explicit messages, videos and voicemails. In March 2025, he sent one employee two sexually explicit emails despite a protection order prohibiting contact.

Investigators searching Beaton's phone after his arrest found a photograph showing him holding his penis in front of the protection order. During the same month, he also sent sexually explicit emails and videos to a female police officer and several other women, including material discussing sexual activity with underage girls and pedophilia.

McDonald said the offenses had undermined victims' dignity and sense of security. He noted that their concerns about the possibility of physical violence were understandable given the persistent nature of the conduct.

"The impact on the victims has been significant," McDonald said.

The judge added that the victims had legitimate reasons to fear that Beaton's repeated sexual fantasies could escalate into physical acts.

"Understandably, their sense of dignity and safety has been violated. They rightly fear that the persistent and perverse fantasies of this accused will flip into physical actions," McDonald said.

Beaton attributed his behavior to past substance abuse and recent diagnoses of schizophrenia and depression. However, McDonald said he was not persuaded that the crimes were significantly connected to those medical conditions. A court-ordered report also indicated that Beaton had demonstrated no insight into his offending behavior.

The judge rejected defense lawyer Pam Smith's suggestion that Beaton's decision to target a police officer represented a cry for help. McDonald instead characterized the conduct as evidence of an uncontrolled pattern of seeking sexual arousal and humiliation through unwanted communications with women he knew.

Beaton received credit for time already served, leaving slightly more than four and a half years remaining on his prison sentence.