HONOLULU (KHON2) — After more than 40 years in prison, John Freudenberg has been successful in pleading with the parole board.

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His attorney said John Freudenberg has paid his debt to society, but one of his victims says it’s a big mistake.

Freudenberg admitted to raping or attempting to rape 16 women in Manoa in the 1980’s. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole and has been denied that possibility during parole hearings every year since he was eligible 26 years ago. KHON2 was there during the hearing in 2017.

He told the parole board, “That is not the way I am now that’s the person I was back then 35 years ago.”

But after another hearing on Monday, the parole board agreed to have him released, much to the disappointment of one of his victims.

“I can tell you personally how dangerous this sex offender is and that he is very compulsive and he doesn’t have self control,” she said.

The victim adds that testimony from other hearings has her convinced that Freudenberg has not been reformed.

“I think what’s gonna happen is that he will re-offend. This is such a big red flag, it’s very dangerous. He’s a very dangerous person, and he should not be out in our community,” she said.

“The bottom line is Mr. Freudenberg has had 40 years of no misconducts, he’s been an exemplary inmate. He has developed many skills over the years. He became an electrician,” said Myles Breiner, Freudenberg’s attorney.

The head of the Hawaii Paroling Authority sent a statement saying, “The Hawaii Paroling Authority doesn’t take this decision lightly. Freudenberg’s release will be monitored closely.”  He adds that a release date has not been determined. When released he will be placed on electronic monitoring. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

The Sex Abuse Treatment Center points out that the state Attorney General has a website that lets people know if there are sex offenders living in your area. There’s also a Hawaii Sex Offender Search Mobile app where users can sign up and get alerts when a sex offender moves to your area.