Michael Burks

> *"My father was a police officer, I was a police officer, I work for the Department of Homeland Security. I understand you guys have a job to do and I'm not trying to tell you anything else other than that. I swear to God as God is my witness, I'm wearing a Saint Michael's Medal right now. I was not going to do anything with her."*
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## Physical description

### Hair Color

Brown

**Michael Burks** is a potential predator involved in the Riverside, California edition of **To Catch a Predator**. He is well-known for trying to use his occupation as a federal agent for homeland security to convince the detectives he wasn't going to molest an underage girl. He is also known for his resemblance to Michael Warrecker.

## Chat

30-year-old Michael Burks started an internet chat with a Perverted Justice decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl. When they initially spoke, Burks had asked the decoy if she wanted to get together and have some fun. He offered to drive her to a location where she could meet him when she said she would but couldn't because of her father. Burks maintained his assertions that the decoy was jailbait and that it was against the law to have inappropriate contact with her. The following day, the decoy told Burks that her father would be paying a weekend visit to her mother in rehab. Burks suggested the decoy request permission from her father to spend the weekend at home instead of at her grandmother's house. Burks warned the decoy that since he worked as a criminal investigator, any inappropriate interactions with her could result in his losing his job and going to jail. He asked if she had "gone all the way" and about her sexual history.

Burks asserted that he was worried about the decoy's age because it is against the law to have sex with a minor. She agreed to go shopping with him, but he cautioned her that he would get into trouble if he used the webcam.  He said that engaging in sexual activity with her would get him into trouble. He then asked if she wanted to get drunk and about her sexual preferences. She asked him whether he wanted to have sex with her, and he said yes. They then talked about having sex. When he saw something on the camera, Burks questioned her, "What if you're a cop, and I'm going to get busted?" He claimed he was worried she would tell someone about their relationship. He inquired if she was sure she wanted to have sex, and she answered in the positive. Given that girl was 13 and he was 30, Burks said that he wasn't sure he could follow through with it and that he thought it was wrong.

He asked her again if she wanted him to come over, have sex with her, and then go, and she said yes. Burks failed to show up to the sting house at the scheduled time, and when he and the decoy spoke later, he said he was only coming over to see her. He claimed he didn't believe he was capable of having sex. He continued by telling her that she would be giving him oral sex. He inquired about her preferred sexual activity once more. On January 7, 2006, Burks struck up a conversation and declared that while they would meet a few times, "nothing serious" would take place. All he wanted to do, he claimed, was to "kick back," and he didn't want to go out or get her any alcohol since doing so would "open a Pandora's box." He stated that if he came over, he couldn't stay very long He promised to arrive for between one and two hours so they could watch a movie.

## Arrest

Burks drove over 40 miles to get to the sting house. When Burks got there, he parked across the street from the sting home. A child sex predator, Erik Pallesen, was entering the sting house just as the volunteer had instructed him to do so. There was another child sex predator, Karampal Singh Nakai, down the street. Three to five minutes after Burks arrived, the sheriffs arrested all three at once.

### Police interview

Burks acknowledged that he was a police officer for homeland security and that his father was a police officer during his police interview. He claimed that because God was his witness and he was wearing a Saint Michael's, he declared that he would not have done anything sexual with the girl. Burks' lies were not believed by the investigator, who said that Burks had planned to have intercourse with the girl at some point. The investigator argued that Burks was in a position to know better and was aware of the law.

## Legal process

Burks was charged with attempted lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age and attempted oral copulation with a minor under 14 years of age and more than a 10 year age difference between victim and offender, both felonies. His bail was set at $50,000.

### Trial

Burks was set to go on trial on November 29, 2006. In his testimony, Burks stated that it was wrong for him to talk about sexual matters with someone he thought was 13 years old. He later asserted that he had lost track of who he was speaking with and that he was genuinely discussing these subjects in the chat room with other adults above the age of 18. He adamantly maintained that he had never intended to engage in sexual activity with the decoy. He  said he planned to drop by the sting house and say hello because he was already going to a friend's house that was nearby.

Burks further asserted that he contacted the decoy a third time after parking across the street from the sting house and telling her to come outside so they could speak for a moment before he had to leave. He claimed that s he initially insisted he enter the home, but later she decided to meet him outside. Burks acknowledged that he observed Karampal Singh Nakai approach the residence and that he thought the decoy had planned for him to join them. He said he understood that it was "silly," and he was unsure of his purpose at the sting house. He maintained that he contacted her once more, informing her that he was leaving to visit his friend and that there was another person outside.

### Sentencing

In 2009, Burks ended up pleading guilty to a felony count of attempted lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age while the other felony charge was dropped. He was sentenced to one year in county jail, three years of probation, and had to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

### Appeal

In February 2011, Burks filed an appeal claiming that the evidence wasn't strong enough to back up his conviction. He also argued that the evidence was insufficient because he didn't enter the sting house and there was no proof that he had any tools with him that he could have used to molest the decoy. The court upheld his conviction, stating that it was up to the jury to draw the inference and that a logical one would be that he continued his prior, obvious desire to have intercourse with the decoy.

## Links

* Tcapist Guide To Unaired Predators: Riverside
* Chatlog
* Riverside clip
	+ Can be seen at 2:47-3:43

1. ↑ http://www.perverted-justice.com/booking/bookingcollage.html
2. ↑ https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1725061/posts
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://www.leagle.com/decision/incaco20110228048
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.perverted-justice.com/?con=mikeb44la2000
5. ↑ https://meganslaw.ca.gov/OffenderDisplay.aspx?searchby=offender&ID=18610053N4759&NSOPRFlag=True&x=70265897-24a9-4e95-95a7-57d04735062b
6. ↑ https://dairystatedegenerates.blogspot.com/2020/10/to-catch-predator-update-riverside-part\_26.html