Da Vinci rapist in hostel just yards from city school

The 33-year-old ex-con was seen in a beanie hat with a goatee beard, alongside a burly minder puffing on a cigarette, it was reported today.

News of this controversial relocation comes after a 100-strong mob descended on a homeless unit in Loanhead last month after rumours spread Greens was living there.

Greens was jailed for the 2005 rape of a 19-year-old Dutch student near Rosslyn Chapel, Midlothian, which features in the Dan Brown novel, and secured his release in January this year.

Today, victim support groups and politicians were outraged by the position of his new hostel said to be in the New Town, yards away from a primary school.

Cathy Steele, of Central Scotland’s Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre, said: “He should still be in prison because he is a danger to women and always will be.

“It worries me he is housed near a school and that he can walk the streets and is free to look at women, and possibly fantasise about them. Given the chance, he’ll rape again, and if he wants to slip his minders, he will. The only safe place for men like him is prison.”

Tory justice spokesman David McLetchie was reported as saying: “He has carried out a sickening and violent crime and yet he is already out of jail thanks to automatic early release.

“Rather than paying huge sums to keep tabs on him he should still be in jail where we could guarantee that he would not be able to reoffend.”

In February, Greens lost a court bid to avoid an order restricting his movements as it emerged that he has been diagnosed as a psychopath.

A sheriff agreed to impose a strict sexual offences prevention order (Sopo) on Greens which grants police “unrestricted access” to him to stop him re-offending.

At the time of the Loanhead relocation Councillor Derek Milligan, leader of Midlothian Council, said: “It’s disappointing that comments in the media appear to placing the blame about Robert Greens release, also known as the Da Vinci rapist, with Midlothian Council. Our role is to work with the police and other partners to mitigate the risk.”