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 Reading, 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. 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 Level 1 sex offenders – and was unable to do so. “They came to the window and asked, ‘…
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. 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 DA'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 Essex County …
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 today'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, 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 …
Friday, March 22, 2013
Wife of accused child molester John Burbine made court appearance Wednesday.
Marian Burbine, the wife of accused serial child molester John Burbine, now has an expected trial date of Aug. 9. 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. Mrs. Burbine is next due back in court on April 25 for a suppression hearing, with a pre-trial conference set for July 30. Ruehrwein told the court that there would be a motion to suppress, but that a decision on a motion to dismiss would not be made until the discovery process is over. Mrs. Burbine and her husband were the proprietors of the …
Thursday, January 17, 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. Burbine is expected to go to trial in December to face 100 counts involving the sexual abuse of children, including a Reading victim. 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…
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.
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. "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 attorney noted that if concern does come up during a trial about a jury …
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, including a Reading victim, 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 10 has been set for Burbine. His next court proceeding is April 13 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 eight days old. A separate Boston Herald article quoted Barabino outside Woburn Superior Courthouse Tuesday morning as saying the motion to dismiss is an "administrative" …
