Bismarck Man Is Fighting Sex Crime Charges

If you Google John Burnette's name, you can quickly find that he is a convicted sex offender in North Dakota. While he is a convicted criminal, he has failed to register multiple times (he plead guilty in 2015 and 2016, AND it is a current charge against him), he was also convicted of Gross Sexual Imposition in 2008. Get the details about Burnette's prior sexual criminal history here.

Now that we have established who John Burnette is, you can learn more about his current situation. Back in July, KFYR-TV did a report on Burnette's arrest for alleged sexual crimes against a minor. The report says that, allegedly, John Burnette of Bismarck purchased alcohol for a 16-year-old girl, raped her while she was unconscious, and took photographs of her and sent them to his friends. Now, Burnette is contesting the charges. A new preliminary hearing is set for September 23. Get the full story here.

Now, I know the current judgments against John Burnette are still pending, but his past convictions are appalling enough to make a person wonder why Burnette was every a free man. He was found guilty of Gross Sexual Imposition and then failed at least twice to register as a sex offender. I looked up the definition of Gross Sexual Imposition in North Dakota and found that someone guilty of this did a crime that fits in at least one of the following categories:

• Engaging sexually with a person who has a mental disease of defect
• Engaging sexually with a person under 15
• Engaging sexually with a person who is unaware that the act is being performed
• Engaging sexually with a person after impairing their power by giving them intoxicants
• Engaging sexually with a person by threatening or forcing imminent death, bodily injury, or kidnapping

Get more details here. 

Like I said, the latest charges against Burnette are, in fact, pending. But the information in this current situation is eerily similar the information we know about his past convictions.