Convicted Merrimack Sex Offender Arrested Again

A convicted sex offender living in Merrimack has been arrested again accused of posing as a male teenager and having a 13-year-old girl in Oregon send him nude photos via the Internet.

Keith Burns, 40, of 11 Camp Sargent Road, Merrimack, has been charged with seven counts of possession of child pornography and one count of uses of computer services prohibited.

According to Merrimack Police, the arrest comes as a result of a coordinated effort between the Merrimack, Milford and Portsmouth police departments along with the Jackson County Oregon Sheriff's Office in conjunction with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC).

Police say they were alerted late last week by detectives from the Jackson County Sheriff's office and investigators through ICAC that a 13 year old female had been from Oregon had been the target of a suspect believed to live in New Hampshire.

Through an investigation in Oregon authorities discovered that the female victim had allegedly been coaxed into sending nude photos of herself to a person whom she initially thought was a male in his teens.

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Merrimack Police conducted an investigation into the location in which these photos had been sent via computer, and say they soon learned that they were being sent to a computer device owned and operated by convicted sex offender, Burns.

According to Merrimack Police, investigators executed a search warrant mid morning on Wednesday, March 6, and on Thursday afternoon, March 7, police arrested Burns on the charges.

Burns was convicted in May of 2003 of  indecent exposure and lewdness and two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault of a victim younger than 13 years old, according to New Hampshire's sex offender registry.

He also has several previous convictions, according to the registry, that include:

• Aggravated felonious sexual assault – Conviction Date: 2/17/1993
• Aggravated felonious sexual assault – Conviction Date: 2/17/1993
• Witness tampering – Conviction Date: 2/17/1993; and
• Indecent exposure and lewdness – Conviction Date: 12/15/1992

After his most recent conviction in 2003, he served five years in prison, Merrimack Police say, and registered as a sex offender in town when he was released. Burns is considered at tier 3 registered sex offender. Among the three tiers, tier three is reserved for the most serious sex offenders.

Merrimack Police do expect that additional charges will be filed through the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office at the Superior Court once the computer devices have been forensically analyzed.

Burns was arraigned on the multiple felony charges in the 9th Circuit Court District Division in Merrimack on Thursday afternoon. His bail was set at $30,000 cash only. Burns is due back in Merrimack district court on Thursday March 14, at 8:30 a.m., for a probable cause hearing.