Juvenlie probation officer faces charges of sex with teen-ager

Friday, Dec. 4, 1998 | 12:04 p.m.

Tommie Burse was formally notified Thursday that he faces four counts of statutory sexual seduction stemming from a suspected relationship with a now 15-year-old girl.

Each count carries a potential penalty of between one and five years in prison.

Justice of the Peace William Jansen set a preliminary hearing date for May 10.

The 35-year-old Burse was arrested in late October after an investigation indicated that he had been having a consensual sexual relationship with the girl while he was her probation officer between May and August, according to Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell.

The girl told a detective she had at least three different sexual encounters with Burse, including two at a downtown motel.

The same detective also wrote, in an affidavit supporting Burse's arrest, that the teen-ager tried to blackmail Burse by threatening to expose the relationship. Burse contacted his neighbor - a Metropolitan Police Department officer - who filed a police report about the threat in early August.

Burse's attorney, Robert Lucherini said he "most definitely believes" the girl is not telling the truth about her relationship with Burse.

Termination proceedings are now pending against Burse, who has been employed with the county's Family & Youth Services division since 1991, Lucherini said.