Politics & Government

Report: Leone Latest Public Official To Weigh Changes In Sex Offender Policies

Public officials representing Wakefield and the surrounding area have begun looking at how to better protect the public in light of the John Burbine case.

Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone has reportedly called for a review of how information on a sex offender's classification can be shared by public safety officials, according to a Boston Herald report.

The newspaper noted that Wakefield sex offender John Burbine's classification level could have potentially been increased when past abuse allegations were made against him in 2005 and 2009, but Leone acknowledged not notifying the sex offender board back then. A July state supreme court decision now apparently makes that move impossible without an actual conviction.

Elsewhere, this topic ties in to a conversation on Friday that Wakefield Patch had with State Senator Katherine Clark. The state lawmaker said that while it will be a long and deliberative process before any actual reforms are enacted, one area she is interested in looking at is whether there is any legally permissible way to increase a sex offender's classification level if they have made multiple complaints made against them that did not result in convictions.

Wakefield Patch also spoke with State Rep. Paul Brodeur for his perspectives as well in the above mentioned article. Brodeur noted that the new legislative session begins in about a month, and that most new bills tend to get filed during that period of any given session. There's a chance that more than one piece of legislation ends up filed in the coming weeks as well, noted Brodeur.

Earlier in the day, this website also checked in with the office of House Republican Leader Brad Jones.

Full background information on the Burbine case is available at this article from the Leone press conference and also on this Patch topic page where all stories on the case can be found.

Level 1 Sex Offender Worked With Kids In Various Settings

Find out what's happening in Wakefieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Polices involving classification of sex offenders are coming under growing scrutiny in the days after Leone held a press conference first announcing the John Burbine charges. Burbine is facing 95 child sex abuse-related charges stemming from his work at his wife's incompletely licensed day care and tutoring  business.

He apparently worked around children for years - accounts by several local readers of Wakefield Patch and one other woman from Lynnfield have stated that Burbine and his wife Marian both worked at Boston Sports Club in Lynnfield. The previously mentioned Lynnfield woman also told this website that she once saw Burbine working at a large area sporting goods store after he had left BSC.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here