Mob drives Da Vinci Code Rapist out of home

Published on Tuesday 7 February 2012 12:07

The Da Vinci Code rapist, Robert Greens, has been rehoused after demonstrators demanded his eviction.

A local councillor today said Greens had been moved from his home in Dalkeith following a risk assessment by the Multi Agency Public Protection Panel, which manages convicted sex offenders.

On Friday, more than 100 people marched on Midlothian Council’s head office to protest – many holding placards saying “Get rapist out” – after the 33-year-old was housed in a residential block surrounded by families.

Dalkeith councillor Margot Russell said the panel – which is made up of the police, Scottish Prison Service, the NHS and social work departments – took the decision to remove him after residents voiced concerns about the attention his presence might attract.

The location where Greens is said to have been rehoused remains unknown.

Greens was released from HMP Saughton last month after serving five years of a ten-year sentence for a sex attack on a 19-year-old Dutch student near Rosslyn Chapel in 2005.

Residents – who discovered Greens’ new home after it was reported in the press – demanded the local authority remove him. Cllr Russell said: “My understanding is he has not been in the property since Saturday. There was a risk assessment meeting on Friday and the decision was taken later on.

“I’ve been approached by many elderly people and constituents with young families.

“He was always going to have security 24 hours a day, but there were still concerns. One of the issues many of the elderly people raised was the type of attention his being there might attract and the possibility of vigilante attacks.

“Speaking in a personal capacity, I don’t think he should have been released – he should have served his sentence.”

Cllr Russell stressed Greens would be subject to the same level of security at his new premises. She said: “He was housed in Jarnac Court, presumably because it has a lot of CCTV cameras and it’s near the police station. But Dalkeith was not the right place for him, especially not the town centre.”

Greens’ crime was described by the judge in the case as “one of the worst cases of rape” ever dealt with at the High Court, with one witness mistaking the victim for someone who had been in a car crash. He was dubbed the Da Vinci Code rapist after attacking the woman near Rosslyn Chapel, which is featured in Dan Brown’s novel.

Resident Courtney Ritchie, 81, who had spoken of his anger at not being told he would be living next to the rapist, said: “I will believe he has been moved when they take the blinds down so we can see what’s what.”

Detective Superintendent Alan Crawford of Lothian and Borders Police, chairman of the Multi Agency Public Protection Panel, said: “There are robust processes and procedures in place to manage sex offenders, but we cannot comment on individual cases.”

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