Governor Deval Patrick Reacts To Sex Offender Arrest

Governor Deval Patrick says he continues to support making the identities of level 1 sex offenders available to the public after charges were brought against a Wakefield man accused of sexually abusing 13 infants and toddlers.

John Burbine of Wakefield was classified as a Level 1 sex offender after being convicted in 1989 of indecent assault and battery on a child. Level 1 offenders are considered the least likely to re-offend. Prosecutors say that Burbine abused more than a dozen children through a child care service operated by his wife from 2010 to 2012.

Governor Patrick filed legislation last year that would have made information on Level 1 offenders available to the public instead of just the police, but the bill never came up for a vote.