Police are searching for a Paragould physician accused of taking photographs of a woman during a gynecological examination without her knowledge.
Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington said Tuesday that he authorized the Arkansas State Police to seek an arrest warrant for Paul Becton Jr., 68. The warrant, issued by Greene County District Judge Dan Stidham, charges Becton with five counts of video voyeurism, a Class D felony.
A residential telephone number for Becton could not be found. Someone answered several phone calls to the Becton Women’s Clinic on West Kingshighway in Paragould and then hung up without speaking Tuesday afternoon.
Ellington said he believed Becton was “out of town” and had not been located as of Tuesday evening.
According to the affidavit filed in Greene County District Court in Paragould seeking Becton’s arrest, Becton is accused of taking five photographs of a patient April 1.
The woman said she noticed Becton putting away a cellphone after a pelvic exam. She told Paragould police, who in turn asked the state police to investigate.
State police Special Agent Mike Grimes obtained a search warrant for Becton’s phone, and on Thursday, agents took the phone from Becton’s clinic.
Grimes said in the affidavit that authorities found “numerous” photographs of nude women on the phone’s hard drive that were deleted. The photographs appeared to have been taken in a medical office, Grimes wrote.
“Also recovered during the examination were what appear to be photographs of the victim who reported this incident to the Paragould Police Department on April 1,” Grimes wrote in the affidavit.
Ellington said Becton could face more charges.
“When a woman goes to see her doctor, she should not expect her privacy to be violated,” Ellington said.
Becton has owned the women’s clinic in Paragould since May 2007. He worked at the Rogers Clinic for Women from 1984 to 1992 and at Pinnacle Women’s Healthcare Inc. in Rogers from September 2004 to November 2005.
He also had private practices in Rogers and Bentonville.
According to the Becton Women’s Clinic website, Becton is a graduate of Hall High School in Little Rock and attended Baylor University on a football scholarship. He played professional football for the San Diego Chargers from 1967-69 before being injured.
Records at the Arkansas State Medical Board show Becton was issued his physician’s license March 30, 1980. His license is up for renewal July 31, and he has not received any reprimands, revocations or suspension of his license since at least 2007.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 04/16/2014