SAVANNAH, Georgia — A former Army soldier at Fort Stewart has been convicted of sexually abusing two children.
These assaults happened while on duty at a United States military base in Savannah, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Georgia.
32-year-old Austin Michael Burak, originally from Oak Harbor, Washington, was convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact of a Child, or Attempt and Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child, or Attempt following jury trial.
This is all according to a press release from the office of Tara M. Lyons, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Chief Judge R. Stan Baker presided over the four-day trial.
Burak was arrested by the FBI originally. He faces a minimum of 30 years in prison now.
As described in courtroom testimony, in August of 2017, Burak sexually abused a minor by ‘intimate touching in private areas’ when the child was merely nine years old. On the same night in 2017, Burak raped/sodomized another child who was only thirteen years old.
Court documents show just a few months before that night– in April of 2017, he was arrested in Downtown Savannah for public drunkenness and reckless conduct during a night out on Bay Street. He pleaded guilty to reckless conduct, and the public drunkenness was dismissed by the court.
The trial was held on May 12-15th, 2025. Burak now awaits sentencing upon the U.S. Probation Services completing a presentence investigation.
“We are committed to protecting our most vulnerable citizens,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lyons. “In collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we will strive to keep our children and our communities safe.”
“This sends a clear message: Army CID and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate these heinous acts,” said Special Agent in Charge Michele Starostka of the Department of Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Western Field Office. “We are committed to aggressively investigating all crimes, establishing the facts, and supporting the legal process against those responsible.”
“No child should have to experience this heinous abuse. The FBI is committed to tracking down and holding accountable people like Burak who prey on children,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “We will ensure that criminals engaged in this depraved conduct are held accountable in a court of law.”
The case was investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and Federal Bureau of Investigations and prosecuted for the United States by the Southern District of Georgia Assistant United States Attorneys Sherri A. Stephan and Michael Z. Spitulnik.
For any questions, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 1-912-652-4422.
Meanwhile, thousands of legal cases reach U.S. courts every year.
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https://www.wtoc.com/2025/05/30/former-fort-stewart-soldier-convicted-heinous-child-sex-crimes
