A Massachusetts man with child rape and indecent exposure convictions is being released from jail on account of the risk he faces from the raging coronavirus epidemic. 54-year old Glenn Christie was released from the Massachusetts Treatment Center on Friday.

Christie had been previously released from prison on parole, following his conviction for repeatedly raping a 12-year old boy in the city of Lynn, Massachusetts. He was ordered back to prison after violating the terms of his parole agreement, but now he’s getting out because of the risk he faces as a result of the epidemic.

Christie had been a cellmate with an inmate who died of the coronavirus, and he apparently faces several serious preexisting conditions, according to his lawyers. The man uses a wheelchair, and has hypothyroidism, and several other possible medical conditions such as kidney disease.

In a tweet, Mr. Christie’s lawyer described the man as a “a perfect example of the sort of vulnerable person in need of release.”

Prisons and jail systems across the country- mostly on the east coast- have taken to releasing what they describe as mostly non-violent offenders to safeguard their staff and inmates. New York’s Rikers Island jail recounted releasing 300 misdemeanor offenders who were serving sentences of less than a year. Even though Christie was serving a year in the Massachusetts facility for violating the terms of his parole after initial release from prison, he wouldn’t meet the qualifications for coronavirus release used by other state and municipal corrections systems.

It’s probably safe to say that a man convicted of raping a child isn’t the kind of inmate that the public would want released in the midst of a medical pandemic.