Young teen tells Douglas County jury defendant in rape case repeatedly molested her since she was 5 | News, Sports, Jobs

photo by: Chris Condé/Journal-World

George Burgess appears for trial on rape charges on May 30, 2024 in Douglas County District Court.

A young teenager told a Douglas County jury that a defendant in a rape case repeatedly sexually assaulted her starting around the age of 5 and that she “didn't feel safe” to report the abuse before years later.

The defendant, George Joseph Burgess Jr., 45, is on trial this week on two counts of rape and 11 counts of indecent assault with a child. The charges are linked to a series of events between 2017 and 2019 in Douglas County, although the girl said he assaulted her in several locations while traveling across the country with her mother .

The girl, now 13, testified Monday and said she and her mother had lived in several budget motels in Lawrence, as well as a campground and the Lawrence Community Shelter. She said Burgess sexually assaulted her at each location.

The first incident the girl says she remembers happened when she was about 5 years old. She said it happened shortly after a parade, when she dressed as a clown. She said she remembered living in a purple house that, when she was younger, seemed like a mansion to her. Her mother was out of the house and Burgess took her to a bedroom, where he raped her and told her not to tell her mother, she said.

She then went on to further describe several other similar incidents that occurred while the three were staying at Lawrence motels. She also said Burgess assaulted her while the three were traveling on the West Coast, but those alleged incidents were not part of the Douglas County case.

Suzanne Valdez during opening arguments May 30, 2024 in Douglas County District Court.

She said she never told anyone because Burgess threatened to hurt her mother if she ever told. She also testified at one point that she believed her mother would kill Burgess if she knew and that she did not want that to happen.

She said the abuse ended in early 2020, when her mother took her to her grandparents' house in rural Leavenworth County one day. She said her mother took her inside and then took a walk, something she often did, but this time she didn't come back.

“It was the last time I saw my mother. She was going through a difficult time. She went for a walk and never came back,” the girl said.

The girl's grandmother later testified that the girl's mother committed suicide that day. Before doing so, she told the grandmother, her own mother, that Burgess may have behaved inappropriately with the girl.

The girl testified that she did not tell anyone about the sexual abuse for more than a year after that.

“I didn’t feel safe,” she said.

She said she didn't know where Burgess was or if he would ever come for her.

photo by: Chris Condé/Journal-World

Attorney Dakota Loomis and District Attorney Suzanne Valdez at Judge Sally Pokorny's bench on May 30, 2024.

After her mother died, she wanted to continue making art because it was a hobby she shared with her mother. Her grandmother gave her some stored art supplies. The girl said that in one of the notebooks of these supplies there was a note written by a child's hand. The girl recognized the handwriting as hers, she said.

The note stated that she was 8 years old, almost 9, at the time of writing, and said that Burgess started touching her when she was around 5 and that no one knew except her and Burgess. She tore out the message and hid it in a book in her bedroom, she said.

She ultimately shared the note and her experiences with her adoptive father in December 2021.

“I told him not to panic,” she said before telling him about the abuse.

His adoptive father then called his grandmother and they met the next day to discuss it. Shortly after, they called the police.

After the girl's testimony, her adoptive father explained how the girl came into his care and how she revealed the abuse. The girl's grandmother testified that she was very close to the girl and her mother. She said Burgess and the mother had drug problems and led a very transient lifestyle, moving frequently and changing phone numbers often.

photo by: Chris Condé/Journal-World

Douglas County Sheriff's Detective Mike Folks testifies May 31, 2024 in Douglas County District Court.

After calling police, the family eventually contacted Douglas County Sheriff's Detective Mike Folks, who led the investigation and interviewed Burgess, who was living outside at the time.

Recordings of the two interviews Folks conducted with Burgess were played in court Friday. During the first interview, Burgess vehemently denied having any sexual contact with the girl.

“I never touched her,” Burgess said in the recording. “Ask anyone who knows me.”

Burgess told Folks he believed the girl made up the allegations. He said he thought he was told to do it, either by the grandparents and new adoptive father, or by the mother before she passed away.

“I don’t know what she put in that girl’s head,” Burgess said.

He also claimed the girl's grandfather promised to “spend his last penny” to ensure Burgess went to prison and could never see the girl again.

In a second interview two weeks later, Burgess again denied the allegations and reiterated his belief that the girl's grandparents were conspiring against him. He suggested someone else might have abused the girl and claimed the girl's mother dated a convicted sex offender at one point.

photo by: Chris Condé/Journal-World

Attorney Dakota Loomis on May 31, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

Burgess' attorney, Dakota Loomis, asked Folks Friday if Folks had ever acted on Burgess' suggestion. People said no, because the girl didn't suggest that another man might have molested her and no one else in the mother's family knew anything about another man.

During the second interview, Burgess also threatened to kill the girl's adoptive father if he had the chance.

“(He) sets it up,” Burgess said. “This drunken piece of [expletive]. If I ever get out of here I'll kill this [expletive]. I know where he lives.

The trial is expected to resume Monday and the parties hope to return the case to the jury by Tuesday afternoon.

Prosecutor Suzanne Valdez, who is prosecuting the case, told jurors Thursday they should make their decision based on the girl's story, what she testified and what she said to her entourage.

“It’s his story. She waited until she felt safe,” Valdez said.

Loomis, for his part, argued that the state lacked corroborating evidence such as DNA or an eyewitness and that the timeline made no sense. He said that for at least a year at the time Burgess allegedly molested the girl, Burgess was in jail in Leavenworth County; Loomis didn't say why.

Burgess is currently in custody on $100,000 bail.

photo by: Chris Condé/Journal-World

From left: George Burgess, attorney Branden Smith, attorney Dakota Loomis and District Attorney Suzanne Valdez on May 30, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.