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Carrier Mills woman gets probation for sexual abuse

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A Carrier Mills woman was sentenced to probation for aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Shannon Burton, 40, Carrier Mills, will serve four years of probation for the offense, which involved one instance of sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old boy in March 2009. She was charged July 27, 2009.

In handing down the sentence Thursday, Judge Walden Morris said imprisoning Burton is not necessary to protect the public. Her sentence also included mandatory sex-offender training, registration with the state as a sex offender, a psychological evaluation, no use of social-networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace and a prohibition against working where children are present, such as beaches, schools or day-care centers. She also may not be in the presence of boys aged 12 to 17 outside the supervision of another adult.

Burton apologized to the family of the victim and her own family and said she got off the numerous medications that were causing her problems.

Assistant State&#39;s Attorney Eva Walker argued for a minimum of three years in prison. Class 2 felonies are punishable by three to seven years in the Department of Corrections.

"All the family members (of the victim) want Shannon Burton to go to prison," Walker said.

Walker said there shouldn&#39;t be any difference in how male or female sex offenders are sentenced.

"But sometimes people don&#39;t see it as seriously when a woman perpetrates against a boy," Walker said.

Burton was rated a medium risk to offend again during a sex-offender evaluation after her arrest, Walker said.

"She&#39;s a risk, there&#39;s no question about it, to the community," Walker said.

Evidence offered during the sentencing hearing indicated Burton was involved in July in talk of an adult nature with a youth on Facebook who identified himself as 18 years old.

Burton was questioned before her 2009 arrest by Carrier Mills Police Chief Billy Duncan, Harrisburg Police Detective Curt Hustedde and Sheriff&#39;s Department Investigator Mike Jones after the victim&#39;s mother reported the incident to police. Burton initially denied the incident, but confessed after Hustedde confronted her with information obtained during the investigation, according to a police report.

The incident started with a game of "truth or dare," then escalated after Burton and the victim moved to a bedroom to watch television, according to the police report.