Story Published: Jan 17, 2012 at 5:46 PM PDT
Story Updated: Jan 20, 2012 at 3:25 PM PDT
Officials say 43-year-old John Burnham of Oakesdale is charged with two counts of child molestation in the first degree. Deputies say Burnham reportedly had an inappropriate relationship involving a 7-year-old and an 8 year-old child. Officials say cases like this happen all too often.
"Any time a child is taken advantage of, and in this case those are just allegations at this point, but any time there are allegations such as these it is a terrible thing and we would like to see it happen less often than it does," said Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers.
If found guilty, Burnham faces up to 20 years in prison for each count.
