Convicted child molester Stanley Burkhardt – a former investigator of sex crimes against children who has been in and out of prison for decades – invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination more than 700 times while being questioned under oath recently, including when asked whether he committed a series of unsolved murders of youths in his orbit. Burkhardt’s decision to remain silent came when faced with questions about the killings during a deposition in a civil lawsuit by an alleged sexual abuse victim of his – a case aimed at him and the New Orleans police department (NOPD) which used to employ him. His silence couldn’t be held against him if the context were a criminal proceeding. But in the context of the lawsuit, a jury is allowed to presume that the ex-cop availed himself of his fifth amendment right rather than answer honestly because he would have incriminated himself, said civil attorney Kristi Schubert, who deposed Burkhardt for four hours in late April.…