District Man Sentenced to 39 Months in Prison For Improper Touching of 16-Year-Old Girl

            WASHINGTON – James Leroy Burney, 33, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 39 months in prison after earlier pleading 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.

            Burney pled guilty in October 2015 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston. After his prison term, he will be placed on 10 years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

            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 (MPD) got a warrant for Burney’s arrest, and arrested him on Sept. 16, 2015.

            In announcing the sentence, 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.