'Career flasher' gets 13 years
2007-08-16 22:31
California - A 52-year-old man prosecutors called a "career flasher" was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison after pleading no contest to charges he exposed himself to a woman on a San Francisco commuter train.
Police arrested Kenneth Ray Burton last year after he allegedly began masturbating in front of a woman on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train.
Prosecutors sought the lengthy prison sentence because Burton already had two prior convictions for indecent exposure and a previous conviction on six counts related to sexual assault, San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
The sentence of 13 years, four months in state prison was handed down on Wednesday in San Mateo County Superior Court after Burton agreed to plead no contest to five felony counts of indecent exposure. He originally faced a maximum sentence of 25 years to life.
"Our concern was, 'Are we being too lenient? Are we adequately protecting the public?"' Wagstaffe said. "We have a person here who has done this for many, many years. And with all likelihood, he will be doing it again."
- AP