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Three citizens protested an on-going child sex abuse case in Washington County on Wednesday.

Steva House – one of the protesters – said they were there to stand up for a child that was sexually abused by her mother and father. She said the District Attorney decided to drop Kendall Burnett's charges, charging him only with simple child neglect. The point of the protest was to help the child and get charges brought up to what they are supposed to be.

House said they would love to sit down and have a conversation with those involved in the case. She said there are messages that have gone on about the incidents.

Those messages are sickening to the protesters. House said justice needs to be served for the child involved. She said justice is not being served. Instead, justice is being turned backwards.

Initial charges of child sexual abuse were filed against Kendall Burnett. Those were dismissed last week and new charges were filed on Monday. Those charges were two counts of child neglect, conspiracy to commit child sexual abuse and drug possession. Assistant district attorney Will Drake said he consulted with other prosecutors and law enforcement and thought these charges would be the best course of action.

Drake explained why the case needed to be presented this way. Drake said he understands that a lot of the public thinks that just because the messages occurred on a Facebook Messenger format, that that is all they have to do is present those charges in court and they're done. He said there is more to it than that. While Drake and the DA's Office realizes that the messages are sickening and disgusting, it takes more than those messages to prove a case and counts beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Court affidavits claim that Kendall and Ashley Burnett sent Facebook messages to each other that chronicled alleged sexual abuse. If convicted of child neglect, Kendall Burnett would face 20 years to life in prison. Ashley Burnett did not have charges modified and still faces several counts including enabling child sexual abuse. Both remain in custody at the Washington County Jail.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office closed off the roadway to the south of the courthouse to accommodate the protesters. A chest full of ice and bottles of water were also provided by the Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Scott Owen said the protesters were exercising their constitutional rights to peacefully protest. As law enforcement, Sheriff Owen said they were going to assure that the protesters constitutional rights were upheld to voice their opinions and demonstrate in a peaceful manner to get their message across. He said legislators, those in the judicial system, and law enforcement are servants to the community, and they have sworn to uphold their oath to support the constitution of Oklahoma, and the constitution of the United States of America.

A peaceful outcome is expected. Assistant DA Will Drake did speak with the protesters on Wednesday. Sheriff Owen said he witnessed the Prosecutor's Office speaking with the protesters outside the courthouse where they stood. He said in respect to the desire of the protesters to voice their opinion publicly about the case, the Washington County Sheriff's Office was more than happy to accommodate them as servants of the county.