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 Sen. Katherine Clark, who represents Melrose, chaired the Joint Committee on the Judiciary hearing, focused on a bill she and State Rep. Paul Brodeur (D-Melrose) 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. Burbine allegedly sexually abused children from in and around Melrose. Wakefield Police Chief Rick Smith testified at the hearing and was quoted in a Boston Herald report talking about how last summer a parent came to the station asking for information …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
John Burbine, a former Wakefield resident, is facing 100 child sex charges in Middlesex County also has case in Essex County after accuser came forward.
John Burbine, accused of sexually abusing Melrose area children, has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 in Essex County. Early 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 …
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 from Melrose and neighboring communities. 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 today's hearing in Middlesex Superior Court, …
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 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 report…
Accused serial child sex abuser John Burbine is now reportedly facing additional charges in Essex County.
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 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 nearly 100 counts stemming from the alleged sexual abuse of children from the Melrose area. 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 …
Friday, March 22, 2013
Marian Burbine, the wife of accused serial child molester John Burbine, now has an expected trial date of Aug. 9.
Marian Burbine, the wife of accused serial child molester John Burbine, now has an expected trial date of Aug. 9. She faces six counts of reckless endangerment of a child, and two counts of operating an unlicensed day care business. Meanwhile, John Burbine is facing nearly 100 charges for allegedly sexually assaulting children from the Melrose area. Appearing with his client at a Wednesday afternoon hearing at Middlesex Superior Court, attorney John Ruehrwein told the court that he was seeking additional time because of the large amount of evidence associated with the case. The previous trial date for Mrs. Burbine had been June 25. Marian Burbine is next due back in court on April 25 for a suppression hearing, with a pre-trial conference …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Marian Burbine is slated for a March 21 pre-trial conference in a Woburn court. She is accused of running an illegal day care in Wakefield.
A pre-trial conference for Marian Burbine, wife of accused sexual abuser John Burbine, is slated for March 21 at Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn. Marian Burbine, whose husband allegedly sexually abused children from the Melrose area, was initially scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. She has been under house arrest in Wakefield since late last year, charged with six counts of reckless endangerment of a child and two counts of running an illegal day care business - the former Waterfall Education Center in Wakefield. Marian Burbine's husband, John, has pleaded not guilty to about 100 counts involving the sexual abuse of children who were pupils at the former day care and tutoring business. The next step in John Burbine's legal case …
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 Boston-area media Wednesday morning 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 nearly 100 charges involving the sexual abuse of young children from the Melrose area, 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 …
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—which involved Melrose area children allegedly being sexually abused—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. The article also quotes Wakefield Police Chief Rick Smith as saying that he supports the previously mentioned items, while also citing the need for better inter-agency communication. In December, soon after Middlesex …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Attorney Bill Barabino of Wakefield took a minute to discuss how the media has covered his client, John Burbine, so far. Burbine is accused of sexually abusing children from the Melrose area.
Wakefield attorney Bill Barabino has a task that few would envy. Barabino is responsible for defending a client, John Burbine, in what the district attorney has called one of the worst child sex abuse cases in recent memory - while also working amid very intense media attention to the case. In a phone conversation on Tuesday, Wakefield Patch asked Barabino if amid the media crush, the coverage of his client has basically been fair. Burbine is accused of sexually abusing children from the Melrose area. "I think people have reportedly accurately the facts that have been represented in court," said Barabino, adding that nothing specific came to mind about a story that was unfair or inaccurate in the region's media. The Wakefield-based …
Amanda
11:49 am on Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Liberal politicians who allow offenders to get away with a slap on the wrist now want to fix what they broke? more ›