U.S. District Court Judge Audrey G. Fleissig sentenced a former longtime deputy state juvenile officer to seven years in prison for engaging in illegal sex acts with a 15-year-old who was living in an Illinois group home.
Judge Fleissig also ordered Scott F. Burow, 63, to pay $7,500 in restitution to his victim and $5,000 to a fund that helps victims of child pornography and child trafficking.
Burow met the juvenile on an online dating site on which the victim held herself out to be a young adult. Burow agreed to pay her $100 for sex, his plea agreement says. Burow also demanded that she send him a nude image to ensure that she was not an undercover law enforcement officer or working with police.
Burow picked up the girl on April 2, 2020, from a public park near her group home, took her to his home, and secretly recorded the sex acts. He then dropped her off at a motel in Palmyra, Missouri. She flagged down a passing police officer for help.
The girl was a ward of the state at the time, living in a facility supporting children struggling with issues related to attachment and developmental trauma.
Burow pleaded guilty in October to a felony charge of transportation of a minor across state lines to engage in prohibited sexual conduct.
The case was investigated by the Palmyra Police Department, the Hannibal Police Department, and the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.
