A sex offender jailed for 25 years for the rape of an elderly woman will be released from prison this week, it was revealed yesterday. Kathy Lynn Simmons, the Attorney-General and legal affairs minister, said Heman Ledrew Viera, 52, was still considered to “present a risk of significant harm to the health or safety of the public, an affected group of people or an individual”.A public notice issued by Ms Simmons said Viera will leave Westgate on Friday after serving 19 years for the serious sexual assault and robbery of a 77-year-old woman.Ms Simmons, the government leader in the Senate, said she issued the notice after consultation with the Commissioner of Police and that the Ministry of Education would ensure relevant schools were notified.Viera’s last known address was in Warwick. Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux, who sentenced Viera in the Supreme Court in 2000, said he had committed an act of “morbid sexual depravity”. The court heard how revenge had motivated the attack.The woman had pressed charges against him four years earlier for intimidation of her in a bid to get money to pay a debt and he had been jailed for six months. Viera attacked the woman in the home she shared with her 75-year-old sister and her disabled son while he was on parole.Viera, who has a mental disability, was sentenced to 18 years for serious sexual assault and seven years for robbery, to run consecutively.Mr Justice Meerabux said then that Viera “presented a grave danger to society” while on parole.He asked: “How on earth can you release this man and not have a structure for him? It astonishes me. We’re not saying he’s not responsible.“This was a crime of unnecessary and unwarranted violence. “It is unacceptable and, as such, must be dealt with severely. Members of society must be protected from this sort of behaviour.”• On occasion The Royal Gazette may decide to not allow comments on a story that we deem might inflame sensitivities. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers