Paedophile priest Vincent Ryan is set to walk free from jail on Tuesday after serving less than half of his 39-month sentence for the sexual abuse of two altar boys.
The 82-year-old was granted parole last week after a judge found “the offender has demonstrated excellent prison performance” and “positive prospects of rehabilitation” upon his release from Sydney’s Long Bay Prison.
He was sentenced in May 2019 after he was found guilty of sexually abusing two boys aged between 10 and 12 in 1974 and the early 1990s.
He previously served 14 years in prison for the abuse of 34 other boys between 1973 and 1991.
Scott Hallett, who came forward to the police in 1995 about Ryan’s sexual predation against him as a child, said he was “overcome with anger” after learning about the priest’s early release.
“He is just an evil man, very calculating – I don’t think the guy even thinks he’s done anything wrong by pure fact that he is still able to be called a priest,” Hallett, 55, told the ABC.
“I mean he has been convicted of that many crimes.
“When you look at all the victims, plenty has changed for us – we don’t get to walk around like a normal person day to day and he’s just going to come out and think he’s done nothing wrong.”
Newcastle Bishop Bill Wright told the outlet he had written twice to Pope Francis about Ryan’s criminal history, but did not comment on whether he had asked for Ryan to be stripped of his priesthood.
As part of his parole conditions, Ryan must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet 24 hours a day and stay away from his victims and children.
“Parole supervision includes face-to-face meetings and appointments with Community Corrections officers, verification checks, home visits and regular contact with NSW Police,” a Corrective Services spokeswoman said.
This article originally appeared on Over60.