SALT LAKE CITY — A former Salt Lake City Fire Department captain was found guilty Friday of eight counts of second-degree forcible sexual abuse after assaulting a woman enrolled in an EMT class he was teaching.
Along with the sexual abuse convictions, Christopher David Burk was also found guilty on one count of third-degree felony attempted forcible sexual abuse. He was found not guilty on other counts of forcible secual abuse.
Burk was arrested and charged in January 2025, months after the victim reported being assaulted while she was enrolled in the class at Salt Lake Community College.
The woman said that in Oct. 2024, Burk asked her to stay behind to "review some things" after class, and took her to another classroom to show her how to "do assessments." While in the other classroom, Burk sexually assaulted the woman multiple times.
Following the assault, the woman said she was originally fearful of reporting it to police out of fear of retaliation.
During an investigation of Burk, officials with Salt Lake Community College said a second victim had also claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Burk, including one time during a ride-along with the then-fire captain. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said the second victim held off on reporting the incident because Burk "held a position of power and she was concerned reporting could affect her future and employment."
One of Burk's victims told investigators that she dropped out of the program because of the trauma she experienced.
After his arrest, Gill's office filed additional charges against Burk for similar allegations made by four additional women.
"[Burk] abused his position of trust as an EMT teacher to assault multiple students in his class," said Gill. "Though we are disappointed that the jury did not find the defendant guilty on all counts, we appreciate their thoughtful consideration of the facts. Multiple victims came forward during the investigation and seven testified during the trial.
"We hope that all the victim-survivors in this case understand that the jury’s verdict does not diminish their experiences, nor the harm it brought to them."
