District Man Pleads Guilty to Improper Touching of 16-Year-Old Girl

            WASHINGTON – James Leroy Burney, 32, of Washington, D.C., has pled guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a minor, stemming from his fondling of a 16-year-old girl while she slept at her mother’s home, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced today.

            Burney pled guilty on Oct. 21, 2015, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He is to be sentenced on Dec. 18, 2015 by the Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston.  He faces a statutory maximum sentence of seven-and-a-half years in prison.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 13, 2015, the girl was spending the night with her mother, who she was visiting in Southeast Washington.  Twice during the night, Burney slipped into a bedroom and fondled the girl. The Metropolitan Police Department got a warrant for Burney’s arrest, and arrested him on Sept. 16, 2015.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Phillips praised the work of MPD’s Youth Services Division, which investigated the case. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists D’Yvonne Key and Joyce Arthur; Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan; and La June Thames and Katina Adams-Washington, both of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit. Finally, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case.