Former Johnson County music teacher gets jail time, probation for sex with student

A former teacher at Gardner Edgerton High School was placed on probation Friday for having sexual contact with a student.

Todd A. Burd was ordered to serve 30 days in jail as a condition of his probation. He is also required to register as a sex offender.

Burd, 45, was a music teacher and choir director when the 2016 incident occurred.

In April, he pleaded no contest in Johnson County District Court and was found guilty of two felony counts of unlawful sexual relations.

According to court documents, the 16-year-old victim told police that Burd had been communicating with him online — sending photographs and messages that were "sexual in nature."

He said that Burd had been pressuring him to meet after school and that Burd wanted to talk to him in person. He agreed to see Burd and said the sexual contact occurred while they sat inside Burd's pickup truck.

As part of the plea agreement, Burd was sentenced Friday to five years and eight months in prison. The sentence was suspended, and he was placed on probation for three years.

The agreement also requires him to undergo sex offender evaluation and treatment. He is also prohibited from having any unsupervised contact with minors and unmonitored internet usage.

He also can no longer work as a teacher.

If he violates terms of probation, he could be ordered to prison to serve the original sentence.