A house for Dennis

Similarly, adults who sexually assault children are in a position of extreme power over the child - a power which the offender abuses for their own gratification with no care for the long term and severe damage to the child.

Any discussion about Ferguson’s rights to live in peace must be balanced with the rights of his victims and the general community to live in peace.

In my view, it is the victims and the wider community who have a far higher right to live in peace and safety than Ferguson, who has flouted the laws of the land repeatedly and with devastating consequences for innocent children.

While Ferguson rightly says he’s “served his time” the penalty for breaking criminal laws often outlasts the time spent in jail.

People convicted of some classes of criminal offences such as crimes of dishonesty can never gain employment in some sectors of the workforce. Although they have served their time, the consequence of crime is not merely a prison term, it is also the loss of trust that the community will be willing to ever place in them again.

Communities where Ferguson has been settled have been making this point to authorities sometimes loudly and with vehemence. But they have made their point that Ferguson’s rights should be a long way further down the list compared with the rights of innocent children to live in a world where they are relatively safe from convicted sexual predators.

While there are some offenders within homes, by far the most dangerous predators are those who target large numbers of children over a long period of time. And therefore the most effective way to reduce the number of children who fall victim to sex offenders is to remove the most dangerous criminals from the community.

If Ferguson were truly reformed as he claims, then he would be more than willing to be housed away from communities where there are children. He would not have sought employment selling toys to children or visited schools. He also would not have made contact with his co-offender after his release from jail.

Pedophilia is best understood as an addiction to a specific type of criminal behaviour.

Every alcoholic knows that while they might control their alcoholism, they will always remain an alcoholic. A truly reformed alcoholic would not work in a pub. Similarly, a reformed pedophile would not allow himself to be placed in a community surrounded by children.

So, where to find a house for Dennis - and the thousands of repeat offending pedophiles who have been released into the community?

For those repeat offenders in the worst category, separation from regular society is, in my view justified. Outback or isolated rural prison farms or island prisons - with no internet connections - would be suitable, providing reasonable living conditions for repeat offenders, where they could live in reasonable surroundings without the risk of re-offence.

Any pedophile who could not stop offending but who wanted to stop offending, would welcome the opportunity to live in an environment which prevented them from the risk of being able to re-offend.