A Perth man who sexually abused half a dozen children and infants has been handed one of the state’s longest jail terms for such offences, sentenced to more than 24 years imprisonment.
WARNING: This story contains details that some readers may find distressing.
Michael Brian Becton, 33, was charged with 80 child exploitation offences in 2024 and later pleaded guilty to 77, including multiple counts of rape against a baby boy.
Seventy-six were WA state-based charges and one was a Commonwealth offence, which WA police said took place overseas.
The 33-year-old took “depraved” pictures of his young victims and recorded some of the abuse, which occurred over a four-year period before he was arrested.
District Court Judge Cormann described the offending as “vile” and “perverted”. (ABC News: Cason Ho)
Becton’s offending was described as “vile” and “perverted” by Judge Hayley Cormann.
“The depraved nature of your offending are at a very high level,” she said.
“I am firmly of the view that it was clearly escalating and becoming more sustained, more depraved and more involved.”‘Sickening, abusive and repulsive’
Becton’s abuse began in 2020, when the then 28-year-old sexually penetrated a two-year-old girl.
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He recorded the abuse on his phone.
“Your disgusting requests to this two-year-old child … the activities are sickening, abusive and repulsive,” Judge Cormann said.
The offending against the toddler continued until 2021.
He sexually abused and filmed five more children — some in their own homes — between 2022 and 2024.
Youngest victim two months old
Becton’s youngest victim was just two months old.
He committed 45 offences against the baby, which included distressing recordings of the abuse posted to online paedophilic groups.
Becton also abused a baby girl while overseas.Â
Becton was arrested in 2024. (Supplied: WA Police)
During a raid on his property in 2024, police found over 100,000 child abuse images and videos on his electronic devices.
High re-offending risk
Judge Cormann acknowledged Becton’s “unstable upbringing” during his sentencing at the WA District Court last week.
“You had been introduced by your mother to an environment where you yourself from a young age were inappropriately exposed to explicit adult material content,” she said.
“[But] there are no excuses for any of the horrible things you have done.”
The court heard Becton was remorseful for his actions but had a high risk of re-offending.
The District Court heard Becton had a high risk of re-offending. (ABC News: Jack Stevenson)
He was sentenced to 24 years and six months in prison, with the sentence backdated to when he was first placed in custody in 2024.
Becton will be eligible for parole in 2044.
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