Josef Fritzl, 90, 'no longer poses a danger' but CANNOT be freed, court rules: Incest monster can be released from prison for the mentally ill but must be held in regular jail still

Austrian incest monster Josef Fritzl 'no longer poses a danger' but cannot be freed for 'special preventive reasons' and will remain in prison, a court has ruled.

The depraved rapist can be released to a normal jail and no longer needs to be held in a high security facility for the mentally ill, the Regional Court of Krems announced today.

The 90-year-old secretly imprisoned his daughter in a secret dungeon beneath his home from 1984-2008, during which time he raped her thousands of times and fathered seven children with her.

He was jailed in 2009 and handed a life sentence, but last month a panel of judges  met to decide whether a previous court ruling trying to block his bid for freedom should be reversed, with their judgement delivered today.

The court heard evidence including a psychiatric report, which found that Fritzl's mental state had declined severely due to his dementia, reducing his 'dangerousness' and ability to re-offend.

Josef Fritzl is seen during day four of his trial at the country court of St. Poelten in 2009 

The depraved rapist can be released to a normal jail, the Regional Court of Krems announced today, saying that he no longer needs to be held in a high security facility for the mentally ill 

The judges found however that Fritzl's 'unprecedented' criminality means it 'cannot be assumed that there will be no future freedom from offences'.

They said that there has not been enough 'testing' of him while in prison or on day release to determine how he will function outside jail.

Fritzl will be on a ten-year probation in the regular prison, meaning he could be returned to the higher security facility. 

The decision of the court is not legally binding, Austrian news outlet Heute reports, meaning it could yet be overturned.

The regional court previously ruled in January that Fritzl no longer posed a threat to society, and therefore could be moved from a high-security prison to a normal jail.

This decision went on to be viewed as the first step in a process which could result in the Fritzl being released from prison completely.

Prosecutors then opposed the lower court's decision, and the Vienna Higher Regional Court ruled that 'the facts necessary for such a conditional release had not yet fully been clarified.'

The Vienna Regional Court ruled in the District Court of Krems had made the wrong decision, and that Fritzl still had the potential for aggression, and so was still a danger.

But last month, Fritzl's lawyer managed to convince the Krems court that her client has a right to all the benefits of Austrian justice, which includes being released from a high-security prison if he is not dangerous.

Incest monster Josef Fritzl has been granted conditional release from a prison for the mentally ill by an Austrian court. He was pictured outside of prison for the first time in 15 years as he arrived in court earlier this year (pictured)

A hearing on April 30 was supplied with psychiatric and medical findings, on the basis of which the court determined that: 'Due to a comprehensive, progressive dementia and physical deterioration, the prisoner's combined personality disorder, which made the admission necessary, has been "buried" in such a way that the prisoner's dangerousness has been reduced and no criminal offense with serious consequences is to be expected is.'

Fritzl's heinous crimes, including rape, coercion, and imprisonment, sent shockwaves across Austria and Europe in 2008.

For more than two decades, he held his daughter Elisabeth captive in a cramped and mouldy basement beneath his home in Amstetten, which he built.

Fritzl - who changed his name to Mayrhoff in an alleged attempt to evade physical attacks by other inmates - was locked up in 2009 after he admitted to raping his daughter Elisabeth (pictured) and fathering seven children with her

Elisabeth and her kids lived in the basement of the family home in Amstetten while Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie lived above 

Elisabeth, who he abused from the age of 11, disappeared in 1984 at age 18.

He raped her thousands of times over many years, with the abuse resulting in the birth of seven children - three of which remained in captivity with their mother. 

One died at the hands of Fritzl, a matter of days after being born. His disposed of the body in an incinerator. The other three were brought up by Fritzl and his wife, Rosemarie.

Elisabeth lived in this dingy, cramped basement for 24 years with her children

The discovery of his sickening crimes occurred only when one of his daughters fell critically ill, forcing him to seek medical help.

Facing trial in March 2009 for a horrific litany of charges, including murder, rape, and slavery, Fritzl was handed a life sentence.

Fritzl was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009 for incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement and for the negligent homicide of one of his infant sons.