KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Steven W. Burgess, 35, a former Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy, has pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of a teenage girl whom he sexually assaulted in his patrol car.
Burgess, who lives in Independence, entered the guilty plea Thursday in federal court in Kansas City. Under terms of the plea agreement, the government and Burgess agree that a sentence of 14 years in federal prison without parole is the appropriate disposition in this case.
In the plea agreement, Burgess admits that while he was on duty and in uniform, he encountered the victim and some friends in a Sibley park about 2 a.m. on July 24, 2007. Burgess admits keeping the girl at the park, after telling her friends to leave.
He then put her in handcuffs and forced her to engage in sexual activity with him.
