A trio of Midlothian councillors who serve the village of Danderhall have said it is in the interest of everyone in the community to remove a notorious 'sex offender' who is alleged to be living in the area after being released from prison.
Rumours began to circulate on Facebook that notorious sex offender 'Robert Greens' had recently been rehoused near the Danderhall area and residents believe he may have been living at an upper floor address for around three months without being recognised.
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Robert Greens has been spotted a number of times, but always wore a face mask and a hoodie or baseball cap.
But it’s now understood Greens was identified on Monday when a photo of him in the street was posted on Facebook.
The beast was dubbed the Da Vinci rapist for his horrific attack in 2006 on a student near Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian, a key location in the book The Da Vinci Code.
His victim’s injuries were so awful that a driver who found her thought she must have been hit by a car.
At the High Court in Edinburgh in December 2005, Greens admitted dragging her along the ground, sitting on her, threatening her with a knife and asking if she was a virgin. He then repeatedly struck her on the face and raped her.
After the news spread around the community furious locals then gathered in the street on Monday October 3, and demanded the man they believed to be Greens was removed from their street.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Police were made aware of a gathering outside a property in Neatoune Court, Danderhall, Midlothian around 8.45pm on Monday, October 3.
"Officers attended, gave advice and assistance and the group later dispersed. No arrests were made" and on Tuesday morning, at least three police vehicles remained on Neatoune Court.
Local Councillors got involved attending protests in the community and have come together to say although they do not have much power over the release of prisoners, Greens committed one of the most serious violent sex crimes Scotland has ever seen and it is in the interest of the community to remove him.
The trio of local Councillors, Cllr Stephen Curran, Cllr Colin Cassidy and Cllr Margot Russell made a joint statement on October 7, writing: "The management of offenders in our communities is overseen by MAPPA (Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements – Police, SPS, Health and Local Authorities), a legislative partnership.
Councillors have no involvement or input, nor are we sighted or consulted regarding the release of prisoners or the management of offenders in our communities."
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Adding: "MAPPA will not comment on individual cases, but they assure us that public safety is of paramount importance.
"If the media reports are true, we share the serious concerns raised by the community and local residents. We have conveyed these concerns to MAPPA.
"This individual committed one of the most serious violent sexual crimes this country has ever seen. It would be in the interest of everyone that he is removed from the community, and for the property to be allocated to a local family.”
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