Eric Burton is led into a hearing in Dec. of 2024. PHILIP HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

After twice refusing a judge’s court order to provide a sample of his voice, Eric Burton, the Georgia social studies teacher arrested late last year on charges of allegedly having an online sexual relationship with a Lycoming County female minor, has been charged with one felony count of obstruction of justice, according to court documents filed by state Trooper Josiah Reiner.

Burton, 45, a high school teacher in Woodstock, Georgia, has been incarcerated in the Lycoming County Prison since mid-December 2024 when he was extradited here to face felony and misdemeanor charges ranging from photographing-videotaping sexual acts of a minor to indecent exposure.

The obstruction charge was filed last week after Burton twice refused court orders to “read five different statements to be used for voice comparison,” Reiner said in an affidavit. In early June, the investigator “applied for and was granted a search warrant for samples of Burton’s recorded voice to compare with audio files recovered from the suspect’s Snapshot accounts,” it was stated in the court document.

The search warrant was approved by District Judge Christian Frey, but when Burton was served the warrant at the county prison on the morning of June 2, he allegedly refused to comply with it, Reiner said. “Burton read the warrant and accompanying affidavit, but refused to provide the ordered voice samples for comparison analysis,” the investigator said.

After consulting further with the district attorney’s office, it was decided that Reiner should apply for a second search warrant, this one approved by District Judge Gary Whiteman, with plans to involve Burton’s attorney in an attempt “to find an appropriate resolution to the issue,” according to the affidavit. After speaking with Burton, the attorney contacted Reiner, telling the investigator that his client “was still not willing to cooperate with any kind of legal demand for voice comparison analysis,” the court document stated.

Reiner again went to the prison on Aug. 8 and served the second warrant to Burton, but the inmate refused, only stating he wanted to “go back to his cell.” Burton was arraigned on the new felony obstruction charge and recommitted to the prison in lieu of an additional $25,000 bail.

Burton, of Kennesaw Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, is awaiting trial on all the charges stemming from the initial investigation after he was held for court following a preliminary hearing that took place in late December.