Rapist Robert Greens moved out of Lothians to secret location

The 34-year-old, who brutally raped a student, was transferred by the authorities from Edinburgh to an unknown destination in the UK on April 29.

A court heard that the move was “strictly a temporary arrangement” as part of work to “reintegrate” Greens back into the community.

However, a lawyer representing Greens revealed that his client was unhappy to be moved, and complained that he had “no freedom” to choose where he lives.

Greens had been staying in a New Town hostel after being moved from Midlothian following his release from prison, in the wake of protests from residents.

The transfer of Greens emerged at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday as police chiefs sought to continue a sexual offences prevention order (Sopo) imposed on him. Sheriff Isabella McColl granted the Sopo but ordered that it be reviewed again on July 4 to determine whether it should be granted on a permanent basis.

Greens has launched a bid to overturn the order, claiming the restrictions are so prohibitive they breach his human rights.

Andy McGlone, the solicitor representing Chief Constable David Strang, who made the Sopo request, said that Greens was “still in the UK”, adding that the “arrangement is part of work to reintegrate Mr Greens into the community, which is the ultimate objective”.

Mr McGlone said that Greens was now being “monitored by police and social services in a similar manner to monitoring here”.

He added: “This, I have to stress, is a temporary move to allow for planning for reintegration. He will be coming back in the near future.”

Mr McGlone told the court that the Sopo should be extended as Greens still “represents a very serious sexual risk to the public”.

After being released, Greens was made subject to a string of restrictions which included not approaching children, prohibitions on travel, no internet access, having to notify the police of any change in his appearance, and being excluded from certain areas of Midlothian.

Greens’ solicitor, Tony Kelly, said that his client was moved under the terms of his parole. He said: “He resides where ordered by his supervising parole officer. It is not a choice by Mr Greens about where he resides. He’s not free to return.

“His position is that he has no freedom. He does not choose where he wants to reside.”

Mr Kelly argued that the Sopo was unnecessary as the order “duplicated” much of the provisions of his client’s parole, with which he had complied so far.

Midlothian Council released a statement on behalf of the Mappa member agencies, which includes the local authority and Lothian and Borders Police. It read: “There are robust processes and procedures in place to manage sex offenders, but we cannot comment on individual cases.”

Last month, it was revealed that the supervision of Greens, a diagnosed psychopath, had been downgraded with a system of round-the-clock monitoring by two social workers axed.