Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd says Charles Burge is a prior sex offender. Burge, 35, was charged last week with first degree statutory rape, sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a child, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Zahnd says the investigation began with a request to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for help identifying a series of child porn images. The Department of Homeland Security in Boston began attempting to identify the victim in the images last March.
The series consisted of approximately 140 images which Zahnd says chronicle approximately four years of abuse of an 11-year-old girl. The images were altered electronically to hide things in the images that might reveal the perpetrator’s identity or location.
Authorities were able to identify the victim in the photos as a girl living in Platte County. They executed a search warrant at a residence, and found both the defendant and the victim, along with numerous items depicted in the background of the online images.
Prosecutors say Burge was convicted of rape in Arkansas in 1996. He is currently on probation in Platte County for failing to register as a sex offender. Burge has been charged as a predatory sex offender, which carries a mandatory life sentence. He is currently being held under $500,000.00 cash only bond.