Rochester, N.Y. - It was an outrageous, unthinkable crime. A nurse's aide raped and impregnated a comatose woman in a Brighton Healthcare facility back in 1995.
17 years after committing that crime, John Horace walked out of the Franklin Correctional Facility in Franklin County Monday morning as a free man.
Despite a Parole Board decision denying his release, the NYS Department of Corrections said it had to release Horace because he had served two-thirds of his sentence.
Horace will register as a Level Two Sex Offender. Rochester Police and the Monroe County District Attorney's Office have been notified of his release and of his new address.
Horace will remain on Parole through 2021 and will have to follow strict guidelines which include no alcohol or drugs, a curfew and checking in with parole officers.
Attorney John Parrinello said we can't argue with why Horace was released, but Parrinello said we can continue to be outraged by what he did.
Parrinello represented the victim's family in a civil suit. They settled the suit with the Brighton healthcare facility where the rape happened.
Kathy gave birth to a boy in March of 1996 and died a year later.
Her mother raised the child, a son, who is a now a teenager.
They moved away, but still live in New York State.
Parrinello said the family worked with therapists to come up with a way and a time to explain to Kathy's son about how he was born.
Parrinello stayed in touch with the family and planned to notify them of Horace's release from prison.
He said they moved away to get away from what happened.
He said they hoped there will never be any attempt by Horace to contact the boy or his family. They have an Order of Protection issued by the court.
