Photo of Joseph Beaty via Myspace
A judgement Tuesday freed an accused serial rapist from the Dallas County jail.
Joseph Beaty, who is from Oak Cliff, had been in jail for 17 months, accused of raping as many as seven women since 2009.
Beaty’s case is complicated: Two women who say they know Beaty accused him of rape in 2014. After that, prosecutors say, his DNA was matched to rape kits taken from four Dallas women in 2009 and one Arlington woman in 2013.
After his arrest in the 2014 cases, his bond was set at $100,000, and his wife posted it. But prosecutors had the 2009 cases “in the pipeline,” according to KDFW. He was arrested again with bond set at $250,000. Beaty was in jail seven months on those cases when Dallas County prosecutors said they weren’t ready for trial and asked for an extension.
So Beaty’s lawyer filed a writ asking for his bond to be reduced to an affordable amount or for him to be released on his own recognizance. The Fifth Court of Appeals ruled in favor of his release.
State district judge Rick Magnis placed Beaty on house arrest and required him to wear an electronic monitor.
Beaty’s trial is expected to begin in February.
