Sex-for-drugs scheme sends Richland man to prison for exploiting teen

A Richland man will serve 21 years in a federal prison for recording teenage boys being raped in exchange for drugs.

Beau T. Upton, 30, is the third defendant to be convicted in the years-long Tri-Cities child exploitation case.

His U.S. District Court case had been inactive for almost three years until he pleaded guilty last summer.

At the same time, Upton has been fighting related charges in Benton County Superior Court that should be wrapped up later this week as part of a “global resolution.”

Federal Judge Sal Mendoza Jr. also ordered Upton to register as a sex offender and serve 40 years on supervision after his release from prison.

Court documents show that Upton and one young teen boy met online in December 2015, then in person a year later.

He introduced the boy to Zayne K. Barbre, and the two proceeded to rape the boy and record videos using a computer, cellphone and separate camera.

One video discovered by investigators reportedly showed Barbre adjusting the recording device while Upton looked on.

It all came to light in January 2017 when a teen boy shared his story with his counselor, who is legally required to report any suspicions of child abuse or neglect.

“The crimes which exploit children are some of the worst we encounter and have lasting impacts on the victims and their families,” said Richland Police Chief John Bruce. ”We will continue to collaborate with our partners in the (Washington Internet Crimes Against Children) Task Force and support our local Southeast Regional ICAC Task Force in their pursuit of those who prey upon the vulnerable.”

Barbre was sentenced in 2018 to 28 years for making videos of at least four victims, between the ages of 14 and 17, and sharing the videos with other adult men.

He was found harboring a teen runaway in a home that he shared with elderly relatives. That teen told police he was introduced to Barbre by Upton.

Barbre admitted prostituting out at least one teen. He would drive the boy to the meet-ups with strangers, waiting outside to collect payment, and give meth to the teen before and after.

Ryan W. Alexander is serving 25 years for meeting young teen boys through a social media app, then getting the boys to help him sell marijuana and engage in sexual acts.

He would swap his child pornography online for other child pornography, and threatened to “out” the boys who had not yet gone public with their sexual orientation.

Alexander had at least 150 to 300 images of child pornography on his devices.

For his own role in the child exploitation ring, Upton was indicted in federal court with production of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to that charge.

He’s expected to admit his two counts of third-degree child rape in Superior Court.

Troubled youth

Attorney Rick Hernandez of Sunnyside attributed some of his client’s decisions and actions in his adult life to his difficult upbringing and “extraordinary suffering as a young person.”

Upton never met his father, he was living in a car with his mother at age 2 when she abandoned him, and he was sexually abused by an undisclosed person before the age of 10. He started using marijuana and alcohol at 16, that led to cocaine at 18, and by 20 he was using methamphetamine, eventually on a daily basis, said Hernandez.

The lawyer said his client acknowledges what he did with the teen boys and is remorseful, but notes that Upton may have had problems developing into a normal, productive citizen because of his lack of counseling following his own childhood abuse.

“It goes without question that a child’s psychosocial development is impaired by sexual abuse. A child learns that the world is not a safe place and that he is powerless against adults and older youth,” Hernandez wrote in a sentencing document.

“It is well known that sexual abuse in particular brings the additional shame and guilt that virtually all victims take on believing that they must have somehow caused the abuse.”

Underage sexual abuse

Hernandez said the recommended 21-year term will adequately deter Upton from further criminal conduct.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Herzog argued that while Upton’s upbringing was not ideal, his “personal history and characteristics do not absolve him of responsibility for his actions.”

He described the sexual misconduct in this case as egregious.

Herzog added that, based on Upton’s comments in a presentencing report done by a probation officer, he “appears to be as remorseless as he is aimless, whose only consistent conduct appears to be daily drug abuse.”

U.S. Attorney William D. Hyslop said the sentencing hearing “brings to a close the investigations into three individuals who engaged in truly heinous sexual abuse of minors. I hope that the victims and their families are able to gain a sense of resolution as they move forward with their lives.”

“There is no greater priority than the protection of children and teenagers from sexual harm,” Hyslop said in a news release.

“The sentences imposed in these three cases are a clear message to anyone in Eastern Washington who has the criminal audacity not only to abuse minors, but to record their hideous conduct: If you do something terrible like this, we will find you, we will prosecute the case, and you should expect that a multi-decade sentence in federal prison awaits you.”