A court in the southern Dutch city of Den Bosch has ruled that Eindhoven city council is not entitled to ban a convicted paedophile from living in the municipality.

The court found that the city council had failed to prove that the man would be a danger to public order.

Although the judge conceded that the paedophile may re-offend, this did not constitute a threat to law and order. The court ruled that the arguments presented in support of fears that his return would lead to civil unrest were unconvincing.

The 61-year-old man has already sat out a 27-month sentence for raping and sexually abusing boys in a neighbourhood in Eindhoven. It was his third conviction for sexual abuse. He was also given a five-year probationary period on the grounds that he was regarded as very likely to re-offend.

As the man has appealed against his conviction, he is allowed to move freely and is not subject to probation measures. Consequently, Eindhoven city council tried to prevent him from returning to the city.

The Dutch probation authorities are pleased with the ruling because otherwise the problem would be passed from one municipality to the next as mayors tried to keep paedophiles out.

Although there is no supervision of the paedophile, he had agreed not to move into the same neighbourhood as his victims and to undergo voluntary treatment.

A policy of informing mayors when ex-convicts move into their municipalities was recently introduced in response to the commotion in Utrecht and Roermond when convicted paedophiles tried to move back in after serving their sentences.

Photo: Flickr  - Christopher Dale