A 32-year-old Oak Harbor resident who formerly served in the Army was convicted by a jury in federal court in Georgia of sexually victimizing two children, according to a May 30 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Austin M. Burak will be sentenced later this year, following a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Services.

“As described in courtroom testimony, in August of 2017, Burak sexually abused a minor by fondling the child’s genitals when the child was merely 9 years old,” the press release states. “On the same night in 2017, Burak anally raped another child who was only 13 years old. The trial was held on May 12-15, 2025.”

In January of 2024, FBI agents came to Oak Harbor and arrested Burak in a high-profile traffic stop, according to a News-Times story.

The alleged sexual assaults occurred in August 2017 at the Fort Stewart Military Reservation, which is why Burak was charged in federal court.

“This sends a clear message: Army CID and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate these heinous acts,” said Special Agent in Charge Michele Starostka of the Department of Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Western Field Office. “We are committed to aggressively investigating all crimes, establishing the facts, and supporting the legal process against those responsible.”

The case was investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and Federal Bureau of Investigations and prosecuted for the United States by the Southern District of Georgia Assistant United States Attorneys Sherri A. Stephan and Michael Z. Spitulnik.