Ex-Army prosecutor found guilty of rape

Published 8:58 am Tuesday, January 27, 2015

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A former U.S. Army prosecutor who oversaw sexual assault cases has been found guilty on rape and other charges following a six-day court-martial at Fort Bragg, military officials said Monday.

Maj. Erik J. Burris was found guilty on two charges of rape, a charge of forcible sodomy, four charges of assault and a charge of disobeying an order, the Army said in a five-sentence statement. Burris was sentenced to 20 years in prison, dismissed from the service, and ordered to forfeit all pay, the statement said.

Burris, 39, had pleaded not guilty to the charges. He could not be reached for comment, and the name of the lawyer representing him was not provided.

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The statement emailed to news media outlets Monday was the first issued by the Army about the case. It provided no details about the crimes for which Burris was convicted or whether they included other military personnel.

Fort Bragg spokeswoman Maj. Crystal Boring said Monday night that she could not provide further details about the evidence presented against Burris, which she said involved multiple victims.

“Our policy is not to comment on information that might reveal the identities of sexual assault or minor victims,” Boring said. “We do not have a policy of issuing public releases on sexual assault cases and have received no previous media inquiries (about this case).”

Boring said Burris’ name was listed on a public docket in advance of his trial, though a copy was no longer available.