Payson Man Sentenced to 14.5 Years in Prison for Sexual Assault

     PHOENIX, Ariz. –  On December 23, 2019, Paul Darrell Burdette, of Payson, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven P. Logan to 175 months of imprisonment to be followed by supervised release for life.  Burdette had previously been found guilty at trial of one count of Aggravated Sexual Abuse.

     On August 6, 2017, Burdette forcibly raped the victim in a wooded area on the Tonto Apache Indian Reservation.  Burdette was convicted after a four-day jury trial that concluded on May 17, 2019.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Tonto Apache Police Department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Van Buskirk and Brandon Brown, District of Arizona, Phoenix.