Sex Offender Named Suspect In Missing Coed Case
POSTED: Tuesday, August 21, 2007
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LOS ANGELES -- A convicted sex offender arrested in Jacksonville on a drug charge has been named a suspect in the disappearance of a 19-year-old California college student.John Steven Burgess, 35, made his first court appearance Monday after being extradited from Florida to answer to a charge of failing to register as a sex offender while he was living in Los Angeles.While he has not been charged in the disappearance of Donna Jou, a prosecutor who asked the judge to set $1 million bail for Burgess said he was considered a suspect in the case.Burgess denies any involvement in the teenager's disappearance, defense attorney George Bird Jr. said.Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz set bail at $250,000 and ordered Burgess to return to court Sept. 5. In the meantime, Burgess remained in jail.Authorities said Jou was last seen on June 23 getting on the back of Burgess' motorcycle. She was believed headed to a party at his rented house in West Los Angeles.
The next day her mother received a text message saying Jou's cell phone battery was dying but that she would be home soon. Jou, a biology student at San Diego State University, has not been heard from since.Burgess was convicted of three counts of battery in 2002 and of performing a lewd act against a child the following year.Last week, he pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony charge for possession of crack after an arrest in Jacksonville and waived extradition to California.
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Copyright 2007 by News4Jax.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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