Fugitive steals dead infant’s ID to avoid arrest for alleged child sex crimes
Dec 6, 2022, 11:50 AM
(MyNorthwest file photo)
(MyNorthwest file photo)
The Mason County Sheriff’s Office arrested a fugitive from North Carolina wanted for numerous sex crimes against children.
Deputies said Ronald Lee Burns had been living in Mason County for the past five years under the assumed name of Paul Davis.
The 65-year-old Burns was recently arrested in connection with an alleged sex offense with a child in Mason County.
Investigators said Burns has a valid Washington State driver’s license. According to deputies, he got the ID by assuming the identity of an infant who died in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1957.
The FBI assisted deputies in checking Burns’ fingerprints against a national database which confirmed his true identity.
Burns told investigators he had researched the infant’s death online and assumed the identity in 2016 when he took off from North Carolina to avoid being prosecuted for alleged multiple child sex offenses.
In addition to being arrested for the new offenses, Burns faces charges of identity theft alongside his warrant from North Carolina.
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