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NOTORIOUS pedophile Dennis Raymond Ferguson has been spirited out of a Queensland town after a group of 80 people gathered at a property at which he was staying.

Angry locals converged on the driveway of an isolated weatherboard house near Miles where Ferguson had been in hiding since a judge set him free on Tuesday.

Residents, who were rallied by text message, drove to the house at dusk in a procession of cars, four-wheel-drives and utilities, later holding signs and chanting for him to leave.

Police watched as the mob vented its anger at not being told of his relocation after Judge Hugh Botting ordered a permanent stay of proceedings on child-sex charges against the repeat offender.

Officers said last night that Ferguson, 60, was removed at his own request to an undisclosed location in Queensland.

It was the fourth town he has been run out of after mobs drove him from Murgon in February 2005, from Ipswich two days later and from Roma the following month.

Judge Botting ruled Ferguson would not receive a fair trial due to his past convictions, the "extraordinary nature of the public comment" and a weak prosecution case.

He said if the trial were to proceed "there would be a real prospect of a miscarriage of justice".

Attorney-General Kerry Shine lodged an appeal on Wednesday, which Chief Justice Paul de Jersey said he would fast-track. It was expected to be heard on July 22.

Michael Coleman, one of those who rallied outside Ferguson`s house, said Miles could "quite clearly do without him".

Kat Spencer, who has a two-year-old boy, said children usually had the run of the town but would be virtual prisoners in their homes if Ferguson was allowed to stay.

"What can we do? This bloke deserves to be locked in jail. Our kids are being locked inside because he`s here," she said.

Yesterday Premier Anna Bligh appealed for calm but said she understood the concerns.

Ferguson had been due to stand trial next week for allegedly assaulting a five-year-old girl at her home in Dalby, west of Brisbane, in November 2005.

Legal experts fear Ferguson is now beyond the law and may escape trial again if he re-offends.

Dr David Hamer, an expert in criminal law at the University of Queensland, said that if Ferguson stood accused again the same situation may occur.

"If he re-offends, many of the considerations which led to the destruction of the case last week will apply again," he said.

Read more on this story at The Courier-Mail

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