A Port Huron woman accused of sexually abusing a child and sharing videos of the assault entered a guilty plea Tuesday, May 26.
Kelly Burson, 31, was arrested in February after a search warrant led the Michigan State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to discover a copy of the video.
Burson pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree child abuse, aggravated child sexually abusive activity, second-degree criminal sexual conduct and distributing child sexually abusive material. A charge of using a computer to commit a crime was dropped.
Michigan State Police began investigating Burson in December after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The center itself had reportedly received a tip from Kik, Media Lab AI Inc. stating it had detected child porn being distributed through its Kik messenger app in connection to Burson’s account.
During a search of Burson’s home investigators uncovered 10 videos of Burson sexually abusing a pre-pubescent boy, according to Michigan State Police.
First-degree child abuse is punishable with up to life in prison. Aggravated child sexually abusive activity is punishable with up to 25 years in prison. Second-degree criminal sexual conduct is punishable with up to 15 years in prison. Distributing child sexually abusive material is punishable with up to seven years in prison.
Burson is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:50 a.m. July 27 by Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Lane.
Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Port Huron woman pleads guilty to child sexual abuse
Reporting by Johnathan Hogan, Port Huron Times Herald / Port Huron Times Herald
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