George Burgess on August 1, 2024, in Douglas County District Court. Burgess was sentenced to life in prison for raping a young girl.

A man received multiple life sentences on Thursday for the rape of a child and other child sex crimes in Douglas County.

The man, George Joseph Burgess Jr., 45, was found guilty by a Douglas County jury in June on two counts of rape and six counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. The incidents occurred between 2017 and 2019 when the girl was between the ages of 7 and 9 and living in various locations in Douglas County, as the Journal-World reported.

On Thursday, Judge Sally Pokorny sentenced Burgess to two consecutive life sentences for the two counts of rape, with no possibility of parole for 76.5 years. She also gave him six more individual life sentences for the six counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, but those won’t add to the total length of the sentence, because she ordered each one to be served concurrently with all the others and with the two life sentences for rape.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

District Attorney Suzanne Valdez looks to a gallery of the victim’s supporters during the sentencing hearing for George Burgess on Aug. 1, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the girl and members of her family spoke. The girl asked whether Burgess ever truly had feelings for her now-deceased mother, or whether he just used her for a place to stay. She also said she hoped that what she said in court would hurt Burgess like he had hurt her.

“I’m not scared of you. I hope you rot in prison,” the girl said.

The girl’s adoptive father said that Burgess had abused the girl and her mother since the day Burgess came into their lives and that he hoped Burgess would spend the rest of his days behind bars and that he “gets what is coming to him.”

The girl’s grandparents also spoke; her grandmother said Burgess was not fit to be a member of society, and her grandfather asked the court to make sure Burgess was never allowed to leave prison because, because he thought Burgess “will do it again” if given the chance.

Burgess himself declined to speak at the hearing.

Pokorny said she remembered seeing the girl’s grandfather at every hearing and status conference throughout the case. She said it was clear that the girl had strong family support, as demonstrated further by there being more than a dozen supporters attending the hearing. While it was the jury who decided Burgess was guilty, Pokorny said she personally was convinced by the girl’s story at trial.

“I believed every word that came out of (her) mouth,” Pokorny said.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

left to right, George Burgess, attorney Dakota Loomis, District Attorney Suzanne Valdez, and Judge Sally Pokorny on Aug. 1, 2024, in Douglas County District Court.

Burgess’ attorney, Dakota Loomis, had asked the court to depart from Kansas sentencing guidelines and sentence Burgess to life in prison but with the possibility of parole in just 25 years. While Burgess’ criminal history made him eligible for 50 years without parole, Loomis said that the majority of Burgess’ history was misdemeanor counts. District Attorney Suzanne Valdez objected to Loomis’ request for a lighter sentence.

Pokorny denied Loomis’ request and noted that the misdemeanor convictions on Burgess’ record were for violating protective orders, endangering a child and domestic abuse. She said those charges demonstrated the type of man Burgess has been in life.

“It demonstrates the mentality of power and control over someone who cannot defend themselves,” Pokorny said.

The allegations against Burgess came to light after the girl’s mother died and the girl told her grandparents and adoptive father that Burgess assaulted her numerous times while she and her mother were living with Burgess as transients. The girl testified at trial that Burgess violated her at various budget motels in Lawrence, as well as at a campsite and the Lawrence Community Shelter. She said the abuse actually began when she was about 5 years old in another county.

Burgess’ previous felony convictions include one count of identity theft and one count of removal of an electronic monitoring device in Douglas County in 2022.