Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, December 6, 1994                   TAG: 9412060090
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IRON GATE MAN RECEIVES 20-YEAR SENTENCE IN RAPE

But Beverly told Circuit Judge George E. Honts III through his attorney that he will appeal the decision.

Honts found Beverly guilty in October, but delayed sentencing until a background report could be prepared.

Beverly, 40, described himself as a "social user of crack cocaine" who claimed that his problems stemmed from the type of women he encountered.

Prosecutors have argued that Beverly, who lives in Iron Gate, is adept at placing woman in situations where he can cast doubt on their character.

"This is the third time I have prosecuted Frank Beverly for rape," Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Hagan said after Beverly's October trial. "In each case, he set his victim up in a compromising situation, which allowed him to attack the credibility of the rape report."

Hagan told Honts that Beverly is a threat to society.

"He is a proven danger to the woman in the Clifton Forge-Iron Gate area," Hagan said. "There is every indication if he gets out, he'll do it again."

The latest allegation came from a 46-year-old Clifton Forge woman, who said Beverly asked her for a ride to his parents' home in Iron Gate in May. The woman testified that Beverly directed her to a private road, where he grabbed her car keys and repeatedly raped her at knifepoint.

The woman had bruises on her face and neck from where Beverly slapped and choked her, Hagan said.

Beverly admitted having sex with her but said it was consensual.

The woman said she was able to flee when Beverly ordered her to change position in the car.

Hagan said Beverly left with the woman's car, which led him also to be convicted of unauthorized use of a vehicle. He was given one year for that conviction, 15 years for the rape, and another four years for passing about $1,600 in bad checks to a Cloverdale grocery store.

In 1984, Beverly pleaded guilty to assault and battery in Clifton Forge after being accused by an ex-girlfriend of dragging her into a thicket and raping her. He served eight months in jail.

In 1990, a woman Beverly met at a party said he drove her to Botetourt County, parked on the side of U.S. 220 and raped her seven or eight times. A judge acquitted Beverly after he testified that she had consented to sex.

In 1992, a female acquaintance accused Beverly of beating and raping her after they had smoked crack cocaine together in an abandoned trailer outside Iron Gate. Beverly pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of sexual battery and was ordered to serve six months in jail.