Middlesex DA calls for review of sex offender classification laws

BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone is calling for a review of the way authorities can share information related to sex offender classification following the case against a Wakefield man accused of sexually abusing 13 children.

Leone says there is presently no formal mechanism in place for district attorney offices or the DCF to make an information referral to the sex offender registry board. He adds that current law prohibits the board from reclassifying a sex offender unless there is a subsequent criminal conviction.

John Burbine was classified as a level 1 sex offender following a 1989 conviction for assault and battery on a child. Burbine was investigated again in 2005 and 2009 after being accused of abusing children, but criminal charges never moved forward.

Burbine is now facing 100 counts of sexual abuse after investigators alleged that he sexually abused 13 children while working for his wife's day care business.

Cox Media Group