TELL US: Should Level 1 Sex Offender Information Be Public?
A Wakefield tutor who faces numerous child sex charges was a Level 1 sex offender.
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On Thursday afternoon, news spread quickly through the region about the indictment of a Wakefield couple for numerous charges stemming from an illegal day care operation where graphic child sexual abuse occurred.
The Middlesex County District Attorney's office alleges that at least 13 children were abused while under the care of John Burbine, 49, at the Waterfall Education Center, which offered tutoring and day care.
Burbine was a level 1 sex offender, which means he had been convicted of a sex-related crime but was deemed least likely to re-offend.
Once an offender is classified as a Level 2 or a Level 3 Offender, his/her sex offender registry information will be available to the public. Level 1 information is not public.
Does this case affect how you feel about the Sex Offender Registry? Would releasing more information about all levels of sex offenders prove helpful? Or, do you think level 1 offenders don't deserve to have their information made public? Tell us in the comments.
Jason Wichern
2:49 pm on Friday, December 7, 2012
Yes. All levels should be available to the public with the offenses committed.
Adam Maleson
4:47 am on Saturday, December 8, 2012
Supposedly he ran an "illegal daycare". Level 1 offenders should certainly be recognized as such by anyone seeking certification to run a daycare.
But the couple running this daycare were not certified. If the parents of the allegedly abused children did not bother to check whether this daycare was actually legally certified, what makes you think having Burbine's level 1 offender status made public would have had any effect on whether the parents put their children in his care?
Unless you're proposing sex offenders should be branded with a scarlet number 1, 2, or 3 on their foreheads?
p.s. Diane Horn you are probably too young to remember the Fells Acres abuse case from nearly 30 years ago. This Burbine story doesn't sound like anything new.
Adam Maleson
4:50 am on Saturday, December 8, 2012
proofreading second sentence: "Level 1 offenders should certainly be recognized as such by the authorities responsible for certifying anyone to run a daycare".