Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Legislation filed in aftermath of John Burbine arrest aims to fix weaknesses in the state's sex offender registry system.
Local lawmakers and Wakefield’s chief of police were among those calling for changes to the state’s sex offender laws during a Tuesday hearing at the State House. State Senator Katherine Clark, who represents Wakefield, chaired the Joint Committee on the Judiciary hearing, focused on a bill she and Rep. Paul Brodeur are sponsoring. The legislation aims to address weaknesses in the sex offender registry system that were brought to light by the John Burbine child sex abuse case. Rep. Brad Jones, the House Republican Leader who also represents Lynnfield, has introduced his own bill, saying in a statement that it's the only one of the current pending bills that would bring the state into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act. "The …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Former Wakefield resident facing 100 child sex charges in Middlesex County also has case in Essex County after accuser came forward.
Accused child molester John Burbine has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 in Essex County. Earlier Wednesday, a not guilty plea was entered on Burbine's behalf in Salem Superior Court and he was ordered held without bail. These charges were filed after a male accuser came forward with allegations against Burbine shortly after learning of his arrest late last year. He has been held at the Billerica House of Correction since around that time. A spokeswoman for the Essex County District Attorney's office, Carrie Kimball-Monahan, told Wakefield Patch that this accuser is a male and that his allegations against Burbine cover a four-year span back in the early 1990s. The next …
John Burbine's attorney has asked a judge to dismiss eight of the 100 charges filed against him.
The lawyer for accused child molester John Burbine has asked a judge to dismiss eight of the 100 charges his client is facing, saying his own client reached a "level of deviancy and perversion" unanticipated by the law, given the very young age of the victims. Attorney Bill Barabino has filed a motion to dismiss six counts of aggravated rape of a child and two counts of dissemination of matter harmful to minors. This would still leave Burbine facing some 92 counts. His wife, Marian, faces additional charges of reckless endangerment of a child for operating an illegal day care center in Wakefield where many of the victims' families were clients. After Tuesday's hearing in Middlesex Superior Court, Barabino told Wakefield Patch he believes…
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
State audit finds 119 Level 2 and 3 sex offenders living at addresses registered as child care providers. Also, background checks not being done in some cases.
A new report from State Auditor Suzanne Bump suggests that a surprisingly large number of sex offenders statewide may be living in properties also used as childcare facilities. According to the report, the recent audit found 119 Level 2 and 3 sex offenders living at addresses that were also registered with the state as child care providers. The audit took place over 15 months from July, 2010 through September of 2011. “While we recognize that all 119 may not pose a problem because some of the information in the sex offender registry may be outdated, we believe that routinely conducting this match will serve to better ensure the safety of children in (Department of Early Education and Care’s) programs,” stated the report. Meanwhile, the …
Facing 100 charges involving child sex abuse in Middlesex County, an accuser in Essex County has now reportedly come forward.
Accused serial child sex abuser John Burbine is now reportedly facing additional charges in Essex County. According to a Wednesday Salem News report, a new accuser, a boy from Saugus, has stepped forward with allegations about actions that would have occurred from May of 1990 to January, 1994. The accuser reportedly came forward after seeing the initial media coverage in the case. In Middlesex County, Burbine is already facing 100 counts stemming from the alleged sexual abuse of children. Burbine and his wife Marian were proprietors of the Waterfall Education Center in Wakefield, which offered tutoring and daycare services despite not being fully licensed to do so. Mrs. Burbine is facing six counts of reckless endangerment of a child and …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
In wake of the John Burbine case, local lawmakers announce a comprehensive proposal to reform state sex offender reporting policies.
Local lawmakers told the media Wednesday that they have filed comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the ways information about sex offenders is shared between law enforcement, state agencies, and the public. The legislation was motivated by the charges against John and Marian Burbine, both of Wakefield. John Burbine is facing 100 charges involving the sexual abuse of young children, while his wife is charged with multiple counts stemming from the illegal day care she operated. John Burbine was classified as a level 1 sex offender after a 1989 case involving several young children - and with that classification level was able to avoid detection even when a local mother tried to check into his background when her child was going to …
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Three nearby state lawmakers - State Sen. Katherine Clark and state reps. Donald Wong and Paul Brodeur - offer proposed reforms in light of the John Burbine case.
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Tuesday, January 22
The following is a joint statement from State Senator Katherine Clark and State Reps. Paul Brodeur and Donald Wong: In December our communities were stunned when a Wakefield man was charged with 100 counts of child abuse and sexual assault involving very young children. This deeply disturbing case highlights the need to strengthen our laws and regulations to help prevent these horrific crimes in the future. Over the past month, we have been working with Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone, Wakefield Police Chief Rick Smith, and our colleagues in the legislature on a bill to strengthen the Commonwealth’s sex offender registry system, make more information available to the public, and promote communication among the state agencies …
Friday, January 18, 2013
Fox 25 Report says Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr will introduce bill Friday aimed at closing loopholes in sex offender registration system. Back in December, State Senator Katherine Clark raised some similar ideas.
As promised last month after news of the John Burbine sex abuse case first broke, state lawmakers are introducing a bill aimed at closing loopholes in the sex offender registration system. A Thursday report on MyFoxBoston says that State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr will introduce a bill Friday that would allow Level 1 sex offender information to be made public, and which would also an offender to be reclassified if new information came up about them. In December, soon after Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone announced 100 child sex abuse charges against Burbine, 49, of Wakefield, State Senator Katherine Clark, who represents the town, told Wakefield Patch that she supports creating an option to reclassify sex offenders if …
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Wakefield resident John Burbine is facing more than 100 counts of child sexual abuse. He pleaded not guilty last month and his next court action is a motion to dismiss in April.
John Burbine is expected to go to trial in December to face 100 counts involving the sexual abuse of children, according to the office of Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone. A spokeswoman for the DA's office reported that a tentative trial date of December 10th has been set for Burbine. His next court proceeding is April 13th when his attorney, Bill Barabino of Wakefield, is expected to file a motion to dismiss. Burbine pleaded not guilty last month to more than 100 charges involving the sex abuse of children, one of whom was as young as 8 days old. A separate Boston Herald article quoted Barabino outside Woburn Superior Courthouse Tuesday morning as saying the motion to dismiss is an "administrative" procedure and that the defense …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Marian Burbine made court appearance Thursday morning, with next one set for Feb. 13.
Marian Burbine made a short court appearance on Thursday morning, largely to set the terms of her ongoing home confinement in connection with the child sex abuse case against her husband. Burbine and her husband operated the former Waterfall Education Center in downtown Wakefield, and also offered tutoring and daycare services that would reportedly often take place at the children's homes. Her husband was classified a Level 1 sex offender back in 1989, which has touched off a separate legislative debate over how to reform the current system used to share information on sex offenders. Under the terms agreed to in court, Burbine, 46, is free to leave her home for 90 minutes each day between Monday and Friday at a set time to attend to …
Amanda
11:52 am on Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Rep. Jones did this long ago and Sen Clark and Rep Brodeur want to act like they are fixing the problem. The problem is liberals like them created the problem. more ›