Plea for calm as Da Vinci Code rapist Robert Greens set to be released

'Da Vinci Code rapist' Robert Greens. File picture: supplied

The criminal has been allowed out of jail on day release, the Scottish Prison Service has confirmed – and could soon be in front of a parole board.

Greens raped a Dutch student near Rosslyn Chapel, Midlothian, in 2005 and beat her so savagely that a passing driver thought she had been struck by a car.

The last time he was freed from prison, his release sparked angry demonstrations from members of the public outside the cottage in which he had been housed near Bonnyrigg.

Greens' last release from prison prompted angry protests. Picture: Toby Williams

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But Councillor Jim Muirhead, who represents Midlothian South, said that locals needed to put their trust in the police.

He said: “The issue is that he has to go somewhere, and the problem is that I would suspect other local authorities will not be keen to take the guy either. I would say what I said the last time, because I think it was right then. We need to trust the authorities to manage any individual who is released from prison.

“If he is coming back to Midlothian, I have no idea where he is going. I would not think it would be to exactly the same place as before. They certainly try to put people into places where they are visible.”

Residents in Greens’ home town of Dalkeith – where he has previously said he would like to return – said they were “frightened” at the thought of him coming back.

One insisted he was a danger to society and should never be allowed out of jail.

The predator, who has four daughters, was last released from prison in 2012, having served six years and ten months of a ten-year sentence.

Hundreds of locals protested against his release – with some even organising a march from Newtongrange village centre to Greens’ home.

But he was jailed again in 2013 for breaching the terms of his licence by visiting Penicuik, where his former wife and mother of his children lives.

Last year, he was moved to Castle Huntly open prison near Dundee in preparation for his final release date. He will be monitored for five years – and possibly for longer – if still deemed a risk to the public.

Greens tried to blame the 2005 assault on his identical twin brother but was found guilty after a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The horrific crime – described by a judge as “one of the worst cases of rape” ever dealt with at the High Court – saw him attack the 19-year-old Dutch student as she was walking to a friend’s house after getting lost.

He pushed her down a steep embankment, battered her in the face and threatened her with a knife before raping her.

Her injuries were so severe that the woman who found her and the first police officer on the scene both thought she had been in a car crash.

Greens was dubbed the “Da Vinci Code rapist” because of the crime’s location near Rosslyn Chapel, which features in Dan Brown’s 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code and the 2006 film of the same name.