A paedophile was released from custody after less than three months to mingle with families at a music concert after a mistake by prison officials.

The 80-year-old was jailed for 16 months in February for preying on his two young step-grandchildren. He has not yet completed a sex offender treatment programme and is not eligible for release from Westgate until at least the end of the year.

Despite this, he was sent in April to the Transitional Living Centre (TLC), which helps offenders adjust to life after leaving jail. As part of this the elderly man ? who cannot be named because it would lead to the identification of his young victims ? was able to attend the Barrs Bay Park concert on June 24, accompanied by centre staff. understands that a member of the public complained about spotting the man at the event, and when officials realised the mistake he was sent straight back to Westgate

A relative of the offender claims he has been spotted in public on at least six occasions ? apparently unaccompanied by officials ? including at the End to End walk celebrations in Dockyard on May 6.

She said: ?Where is the law regarding the protection of our children and their convicted predators? Why is he allowed to be among the public and most of all among innocent children? There have been many confirmed sightings of this man enjoying his life socialising, dining in restaurants and enjoying the luxury of his car.

?He has been seen driving himself and family members around the Island sightseeing, visiting and just enjoying a normal everyday lifestyle as though he has been convicted of nothing. This is just one man who is allowed to roam free. How many others are out there??

The woman said her own child had been abused by another paedophile who had never been brought to justice, and added: ?As a parent of a child who has experienced the other side, the strain of the damages and trauma these paedophiles cause innocent children and families, I find this an outrage and a disservice to the public.?

The woman said she was told by Police that the man could have been on ?day release? because ?the jails are just totally full.?

Robert Horton, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs said yesterday: ?An error in judgement led to him being placed at the Transitional Living Centre.?

He said the move to the centre had been ?premature? and he is now back at Westgate. He added that he understood the man was only allowed out once, on the evening of the concert.

The offender ? who pleaded guilty to the sex charges ? abused one of his young victims for more than three years.

When he appeared before Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo to be sentenced on February 1, Crown counsel Graveney Bannister said: ?It?s an offence that has left great psychological and emotional scars for these girls.?

The court heard that a pre-sentence report on the man said he ?failed to accept the magnitude and gravity of the offending behaviour?.

Mr. Tokunbo told him at the time: ?The psychologist?s report concluded that the offences are the result of a lack of restraint and dis-inhibition of sexual desires. To me that means there was nothing wrong with your judgment.

?You simply yielded to your own personal temptations. The sentence must reflect the degree of disdain with which society views these kind of offences.?

The mother of the predator?s two victims said last night that she regretted the error was being made public. She said: ?It?s been a very difficult situation for the family but I?m satisfied that the proper measures were taken.?

She said she alerted the authorities to the mistake after discovering that the man had served only two months and two weeks of his sentence at Westgate.

?I went through the proper channels and it was dealt with. It was dealt with the way it should have been dealt with.

?Yes, they made an error and they acknowledged their error and immediately they rectified the problem,? she added.