Jury finds Clover sex offender violent predator

A Clover man who has been convicted twice for sexual crimes against children - including last year shortly after his release from prison - was sent to a state institution Thursday after a civil jury found him to be a sexually violent predator.

Keith Fitzgerald Burris, 47, pleaded guilty in November to sending lewd pictures of himself to a 15-year-old girl and was sentenced to two years in prison, but before the sentenced ended state prosecutors sought to have Burris confined. Prosecutors with the S.C. Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit when Burris’ prison term was about to expire, seeking to try him in a civil court to have a determination made by a jury that Burris is a sexually violent predator under state law who is likely to re-offend.

Burris has been in the York County jail since awaiting the civil trial.

In 2005, Burris was sentenced to 10 years in prison for criminal sexual conduct against a child. After his release from prison, he was charged with a new set of sex crimes against a child.

Under South Carolina’s predator law, prosecutors have to show that medical and other evidence shows that a person with convictions for sexual acts suffers from an abnormality or disorder that would be a threat to the public if the defendant is released.

Offenders who are found to be sexually violent predators then are evaluated and treated in an institution. Annual reviews are done to see if the defendant has changed enough to be released.

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 9:36 AM with the headline "Jury finds Clover sex offender violent predator."