Image via WikipediaI GOTTA give a HUGE shout out to Cerritos judge Phil Hickok for literally throwing the book at a local Whittier man for sexually molesting a female relative. Phil in one of the BEST and TOUGHEST JUDGES here in our community! Thanks Judge Phil for helping keep our community free from guys like Burch! I just ran into Judge Phil a couple of weeks ago when he was helping out a local civic group collect food for the needy! We need more Judges like Phil Hickok in America!RrE
NORWALK – A 66-year-old Whittier man convicted of sexually molesting a female relative was sentenced today to 675 years to life in state prison. Deputy District Attorney Michael Michelena of the Norwalk Branch Office said Michael Benjamin Burch was convicted by a jury on Dec. 21, 2010 of three counts each of forcible rape, oral copulation of a person under 14 and lewd act upon a child. Superior Court Judge Philip Hickok imposed the maximum possible sentence at a morning hearing. Burch began engaging in sex acts with the girl when she was 11 years old. The abuse spanned a two-year period. Burch was convicted in Orange County in 1983 for sexually abusing two other girls. The victims in that case also are relatives. “The defendant is a vicious predator who has destroyed the lives of three … (victims) whom he was charged with protecting,” wrote the prosecutor in a sentencing memo. “The public should know that there is no tolerance for this type of behavior and it will be met with the harshest of penalties.” The prosecutor credited the Special Victims Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for the investigative work that led to Burch’s conviction.
