Palmetto man will spend life in prison for sex crimes against a child

Courtney Antwalan Burley was convicted on multiple counts of sex crimes against a child and was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday in Manatee County.

Burley, 36, was convicted and sentenced on one count of sexual battery on a child under age 12 and two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child.

According to a press release by State Attorney Ed Brodsky. the crimes occurred between April 2017 and September 2018 and were investigated by the Palmetto Police Department.

The process from jury selection to verdict took one day. according to the release. The jury 40 minutes to deliberate before returning a guilty verdict against the Palmetto man.

According to court records, the then 12-year-old girl disclosed that Burley had been sexually abusing her for over a year beginning when she was 11.

Burley was arrested a short time after the victim came forward and police say Burley admitted the sexual abuse allegations to visitors while he was in jail. Video of those visits were presented as evidence.

Brodksy said in his release that the young girl showed courage in disclosing Burley’s actions and also in confronting her abuser in court.

Brodsky commended the Palmetto Police Department, Manatee County Child Protective Services and the Manatee County Child Protection Team for their work on this case and their efforts to protect the children of Manatee County.

This story was originally published July 24, 2019 at 1:07 PM.