Cape Girardeau man charged with child sex crimes

A Cape Girardeau man faces multiple counts of child sex crimes after an 11-year-old girl came forward to police.

David Matthew Burton, 28, formerly of Tamms, Ill., was charged Thursday with one count of first degree statutory rape and three counts of first degree statutory sodomy. If convicted, each charge carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison, said assistant prosecuting attorney Angel Woodruff.

A police officer interviewed the girl Wednesday. Though the arrest warrant places the alleged abuse in September, the girl told police Burton had been inappropriately touching her for two years.

She said he forced her to watch pornographic videos, perform oral sex and eventually have sexual intercourse, according to the officer's probable cause statement.

The girl "stated Burton told her if she told anyone he would kill her and her mother," the officer wrote in the statement.

After Woodruff filed the charges, a warrant was issued by Associate Circuit Court Judge Gary Kamp and Burton was held in custody on a $150,000 bond.

The defendant also faces a probation violation as a result of the new charges. In 2002, he was convicted of three counts of child endangerment and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and a traffic control device.

No new court appearance dates had been set for Burton by late Thursday.