Yard sale held at home that was site of daycare sex abuse

WAKEFIELD, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Some local residents are outraged that a yard sale held Monday could benefit a woman at the center of a high profile child sex abuse case.

Marian Burbine is currently serving time for reckless endangerment of a child. Her husband John Burbine was to stand trial for sexually abusing 13 children before he allegedly committed suicide in his jail cell last year.

Neighbors who contacted fox 25 news say the sale's organizer used at least two wrong addresses to advertise the yard sale at the home where the Burbines lived.

They say people have the right to know what they're buying and where the money's going.

Among the items for sale Monday at the home on Second Street in Wakefield were men's clothing, hats, and children's items.

Concerned residents turned out at the foreclosed home's yard sale to let people know who they were buying from.

"A lot of people coming down here didn't know and some people have left disgusted," said concerned resident Lisa Sawyer. "They are selling items of John Burbine's, and mostly clothes right now back into the community that was victimized."

The home was at the center of child sex abuse case that devastated the community.

"People were not aware of whose home they were buying these things from," another concerned community member Tracey Shea said.

Last year, Marian Burbine pleaded guilt to reckless child endangerment and running an unlicensed home daycare.

Investigators said it was at the daycare that her husband John Burbine sexually abused 13 infants and toddlers. John Burbine was found hanging in his jail cell weeks before he was to stand trial in 2014.

Residents says the online posts advertising the yard sale were misleading.

A post on Craigslist for Monday's sale said "donations go to the family who lost the house," and neighbors say other posts frequently had wrong numerical address or street numbers which didn't exist.

"I would be extremely disturbed if I would buy something unknowingly," resident Rada Frohlichstein said.

At first the organizer, identified on Facebook as Evangeline Brown, called police when FOX25 arrived. About an hour later, Brown  shut the sale down.

"I apologize to everybody out there," Brown said.

When asked if she knew for whom she was selling the items, Brown said she did.

"They have the right to get rid of their things too," she said.

Brown would not answer questions about where the money is going.

Cox Media Group