Kansas City Parish Maintenance Worker Charged with Child Molestation

Fox 4
April 22, 2016

http://fox4kc.com/2016/04/21/kansas-city-parish-maintenance-worker-charged-with-child-molestation/

James Burton

A man who worked as a maintenance supervisor at St. Peter’s Parish, 6415 Holmes Rd., has been charged with statuatory sodomy, sexual molestation and child molestation in Jackson County. The victim in the case is a girl, less than 14-years-old, who told her mother that ‘Mr. Buzz touched my privates.’

Mr. Buzz is a nickname James Burton, 48, is called by those who know him around his south Kansas City neighborhood. The girl says the abuse happened in Burton’s garage and that Burton touched her, asked her to touch him and sodomized her. From the girl’s description of what happened, technicians took swabs of spots in the garage that will be tested for semen. Burton denied ejaculating in the garage, as the girl seemed to describe.

The parish sent out a letter Thursday morning to inform parishioners that Burton had been charged with these offenses. Parish leaders said the alleged abuse did not take place on parish or school grounds. Burton is also not a member of the church.

“This morning I must share difficult news with you. Our parish maintenance supervisor, Mr. James Burton, was charged this morning with child sexual abuse and is being held on bond. While the alleged abuse did not occur on any parish or school property and the victim is not a member of the St. Peter’s community, I ask you to hold all those involved in prayer,” said Rev. Stephen Cook in the letter.

Click here to read the complete letter from St. Peter’s Parish.

According to St. Peter’s, Burton was hired in March 2015 and passed all employment checks. Burton’s wife told police that she was home on the day the abuse allegedly happened. She said she was watching her children play with other children in the backyard. She said Burton would sometimes urinate out a door in the garage, but that he wouldn’t do it in front of the children and that she had never seen him act inappropriately with children.

Prosecutors have requested $100,000 cash bond.

FOX 4 will continue to follow this story, as Jackson County releases more documents on Burton’s charges. Check back with FOX 4 newscasts and fox4kc.com