Man gets 12-year sentence in child porn case

SANDPOINT — A West Virginia man who was arrested in Bonner County last year for possessing child pornography was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge ordered Dennis Joseph Burke to serve 144 months in federal prison for transportation of sexually explicit images of minors. Lodge also ordered Burke to serve 10 years of supervised release following his prison term.

“The strict penalty imposed by the court accurately reflects the views held by the public, Congress, and this office with regard to such conduct,” U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson said in a statement. “We will continue to seek appropriate punishment and hopefully deter these terrible crimes against children.”

Burke, 52, was arrested in March of last year at the Country Inn in Sagle, after he allegedly tried to sell another motel guest some of the illegal images stored on a laptop computer, a sheriff deputy’s report said. The guest managed to handcuff Burke to a bed, but he slipped out of the restraints and allegedly threatened his would-be captor with a knife.

Burke was later arrested and originally charged in state court, although the case was dismissed and shifted to the federal venue.

Several days after his arrest, FBI agents interviewed Burke, who confessed to having more than 200,000 sexually explicit images on his computer, a fact later confirmed by forensic analysis of the device, federal attorneys said. Burke told the agents he fled West Virginia after making bail on similar charges in that jurisdiction.

Burke pleaded guilty to the federal charge in February, which cleared the way for his sentencing hearing in Boise on Wednesday.

Olson commended the cooperative investigation of the sheriff’s office and the FBI.

“Those who possess and distribute child pornography aid and abet the continuing abuse of children, who are the most vulnerable victims,” Olson added.