Freeing the so-called Bulli rapist two years early will mean he can be closely monitored on the outside, NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell says.
Terry John Williamson, 42, walked free from Sydney's Silverwater prison on Thursday after serving 22 years of a 24-year sentence.
As a young man, he terrorised the community of Bulli, on the NSW south coast, for 10 months in 1989 and 1990, and used a police radio scanner to avoid detection.
He sexually assaulted ten women and girls and an 11-year-old boy.
He was convicted of 19 charges relating to the sexual assault of his victims, whose ages ranged between five and 43.
Williamson was granted parole by the State Parole Authority in January.
He had been denied parole every year since 2004 but the parole board determined he should be released so he can be monitored in the community.
Mr O'Farrell told reporters in Sydney the community shouldn't be concerned.
"I understand the decision has been taken so that appropriate control mechanisms can be put in place before his period of parole ends," he said.
"If he'd served his full term the authorities wouldn't have had any capacity to impose those sorts of controls."
Williamson was wearing a white polo shirt, jeans, sneakers and a brown cap when he walked out of jail at 11am (AEDT).
He was greeted by a large media pack but didn't say anything as he got into a pale blue car.
Williamson must comply with 42 parole conditions, including electronic monitoring, drug and alcohol testing, anti-libido medication and staying away from his victims and the Illawarra Region.
Victims of Crime Association League (VOCAL) vice-president Howard Brown said Williamson should have been jailed for life.
"Regrettably because the sentence was clearly inadequate in Williamson's case, the NSW State Parole Authority had in my view no option but order his release under very strict supervision," Mr Brown told AAP.
"But if justice were to have been done when he was originally sentenced, he should have been originally sentenced to life imprisonment never to be released."
Mr Brown said while Williamson remained under supervision the risk to the community was low.
"But I will become quite concerned when the community compliance group, which is currently responsible for his supervision hands the matter over to the probation and parole service," Mr Brown said.
"Because there is historical evidence to indicate the probation and parole will not do a proper job of supervision."
Front page
RSS Feed