When I wrote about this case last week I argued that the police had made a mistake. Here’s what happened.

Previously convicted rapist Jacob Billingsley forced a woman and her boyfriend into an apartment on Sep. 19. He raped the woman repeatedly and hours later he duct taped her and her boyfriend, cut her throat, doused them both with some liquid and set them on fire.

Police knew Billingsley was a suspect immediately and by the next day that suspicion was confirmed by one of the victims, both of whom had somehow survived. An arrest warrant was issued on Sep. 20 and police attempted to track Billingsley down but chose not to inform the public that a dangerous rapist and attempted murderer was on the loose.

Two days later, Billingsley followed Pava LaPere down the street and when she went inside he pretended he lived in the building and had lost his key. She let him in and they got on the elevator together. That was Friday Sep. 22. Her body was finally discovered on the roof of the building three days later. She was partly clothed and had been beaten with a brick and strangled.

Only then did police decide to alert the public, with Baltimore Police Department acting commissioner Richard Worley warning that Billingsley was extremely dangerous and would kill and rape again if given the chance.

This has led many people, myself included to question why the police didn’t alert the public after the first rape and attempted murder of two people. Police have claimed they didn’t do so because that crime was “targeted” meaning Billingsley knew the victims (he worked in the building). But since then several people have come forward to say the police explanation doesn’t add up.

A former New York Police Department sergeant told Insider on Friday that the Baltimore Police Department “dropped the ball” by not notifying the public sooner that the suspect — a convicted sex offender with a violent criminal history — was wanted in a September 19 attempted murder, rape, and arson investigation.

“His picture should have gone out to the public,” retired NYPD sergeant Joseph Giacalone said. “Someone might have seen him and called the police and been able to prevent something else from happening in the future.”

This seems pretty self-evident to me. As I said before, Billingsley was a convicted rapist and a tier 3 sex offender required to register for the rest of his life. Saying his latest crime was targeted doesn’t change the fact that he has a prior history of violently raping women and, as a suspect in a rape and attempted murder, clearly doesn’t care about staying out of prison.

A former assistant chief of police from Georgia also thinks the police made a mistake:

“You hate to second guess anyone in their investigation, however, the public’s safety comes first. And the public needs to be made aware of a person such as this, who is in their midst,” said Clemons.

Clemons says it was BPD’s duty to notify the public of an alleged rapist and arsonist on the loose.

“The community doesn’t serve us; we actually serve the community. So, it’s important that we get that information out to the community that can help us immediately,” said Clemons.

Even beyond this one bad decision, there’s some attention being paid to the fact that Billingsley was out of prison at all. He was sentenced to 30 years in 2015 but as part of a plea deal about half of his sentence was suspended. He then earned enough good behavior credits to get out five years early on his remaining 14-year sentence.

Billingsley was let out of prison under Maryland’s diminution credit system, a policy that allows inmates to reduce the term of their incarceration through such things as good behavior and completing educational courses. Thirty-eight states have similar programs on the books. The violent and repetitive nature of Billingsley’s crimes, however, have left many wondering why he was eligible for the credits and if he should have been released at all…

“Rapists shouldn’t be let out early. Period,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said at a news conference Thursday, where he also called Billingsley a “sociopath.” “When you rape someone — no matter if it’s someone’s daughter, son, their wife — you should not get out early, period, for that kind of offense.”…

Stacey Lee, a professor of law and ethics at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School, said the policy makes sense, in theory, because prisons are overcrowded and understaffed.

“However, if you are a violent offender your access to the number of credits you can get is supposed to be limited,” she said.

Given Billingsley’s past, Lee doesn’t think he should have ever been eligible to receive credit for an early release, despite not violating any of the provisions that would make him ineligible.

Billingsley didn’t deserve a second chance. He deserved to stay in prison. A victim of a violent rapist wrote an opinion piece for the Baltimore Sun last week arguing that the system just doesn’t do enough to protect people from serial predators like Jacob Billingsley.

On Sept. 30, 2002, I nervously sat in a downtown courthouse, scared but ready to testify, when I was called into the hallway and asked if I would agree to a plea deal. Twenty years, with five years suspended, plus, five years probation. “What does that mean,” I asked. “Is that a 15-year sentence?”

The very first thing Hill requested in his plea deal was to remove the gun charges, and the rape charge was moved from 1st degree to 2nd degree. He also requested a move to a different correctional facility. He understands the system. If I didn’t accept the deal, there was the risk he would go free. I accepted the deal.

Alphonso Hill told the police this was his only time. In the courtroom, he turned to the judge and then to me and said, “I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

Just three years into his sentence, and after admitting on national television (”48 Hours”) that he raped me at gunpoint, Hill requested a new hearing. He wanted to argue ineffective counsel. He wasn’t sorry.

Her rapist, Alphonso Hill, who had claimed she was the only victim was later convicted of six more rapes after he was featured on 48 Hours. So, no, it wasn’t his first time and had he not been convicted of those six additional crimes, he would have been out raping more women and counting on getting away with it.

Billingsley is now being held without bail. He should be facing life without parole which is better than he deserves. Here’s the Fox45 Baltimore report on the police decision not to warn the public.