In the words of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Sydney hostage-taker Man Haron Monis 'had a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability'.
He was well-known NSW police, having been accused last year of being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife, who was stabbed and then set alight in Sydney.
He had also been charged this year with a string of sexual offenses dating back a decade, when he had operated as a self-proclaimed 'spiritual healer' and expert in black magic.
He had even threatened the families of dead Australian soldiers. Iran had frequently raised Monis' 'mental condition' with Australian authorities, the country claims.
So why on earth was he out on bail?
That's what many are asking after Monis took hostages at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe and threatened to kill them.
Liberal MP Alex Hawke wrote on Twitter: 'We must also ask our judicial system why a known criminal who hated our country was not in prison.'
NSW Attorney-General Brad Hazzard admitted Monis 'slipped through the cracks'.
'We are asking state agencies and federal agencies to look very closely at how this offender slipped through the cracks,' he told reporters in Sydney.
'How did this offender not come to the attention of state and federal agencies for more urgent action.'
It was now up to those agencies to work out what they missed and did not notice 'that allowed this offender to get to the point that he got to,' he said.
Hazzard added that he did not believe Monis would have been out on bail had the government's revamped bail act, due to come into effect in late January, been in place.
FAMILY'S FURY
The family of Noleen Hayson Pal, the slain ex-wife of the Sydney siege gunman, also expressed their anger that he was not behind bars.
Monis, 50, was on bail after being accused of being an accessory before and after the fact to the 2013 murder of Pal.
Pal's brother Talat Khalik, who lives in California, posted a series of furious comments about Monis on Facebook.
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'Thats systems tere f***d up but im still happy he.died [sic],' Khalik posted on his Facebook page.
'Fu**n lucky tey got u before we did now.rest in hell f****n asshole [sic].'
He also posted a picture of himself with his arm around Noleen, writing: 'Noleen miss u [sic]'.
His mother, Momina Khalik, who also lives in California, said Monis should have been in custody.
'y the first place they let him free on the sydney streets they should have let him rot in the jail his a f****n sick animal [sic],' she posted.
Pal, 30, was stabbed multiple times and set alight in a western Sydney unit block in April 2013.
Monis and his then partner, Amirah Droudis, were both charged over the murder but they were given bail on December 12 last year.
'It is a weak case,' Magistrate William Pierce said at the time of the bail application.
Pal's godfather Ayuut Khalik said the first time he met Monis he didn't like him.
'They should have put him away and thrown away the key,' he told NBC News.
'Who do you blame? The Australian government? The judicial system?' he said.
Khalik said that Monis and Pal had two sons.
Monis, a self-styled sheik, made Pal wear a hijab and stopped her from contacting non-Muslims, he said.
'We found out he was hitting her and stuff, and he was telling his kids white people are bad.'
Khalik said when Pal came to stay with his family in California for a month last year he told her to be safe.
He said he found out Monis was involved in the hostage siege in Sydney when he received a Facebook message from a relative.
'It was like someone hit me with a sledgehammer,' he told NBC News. 'I just prayed for the hostages.'
-Stuff, AAP, Sydney Morning Herald, Bloomberg News Entities 0 Name: Monis Count: 11 1 Name: Sydney Count: 10 2 Name: California Count: 3 3 Name: Khalik Count: 3 4 Name: Sydney Morning Herald Count: 1 5 Name: AAP Count: 1 6 Name: Iran Count: 1 7 Name: Tony Abbott Count: 1 8 Name: Noleen Count: 1 9 Name: Amirah Droudis Count: 1 10 Name: Alex Hawke Count: 1 11 Name: Ayuut Khalik Count: 1 12 Name: Brad Hazzard Count: 1 13 Name: Lindt Chocolat Cafe Count: 1 14 Name: Momina Khalik Count: 1 15 Name: Haron Monis Count: 1 16 Name: Liberal Count: 1 17 Name: Noleen Hayson Pal Count: 1 18 Name: Magistrate William Pierce Count: 1 19 Name: Islamic State Count: 1 20 Name: Talat Khalik Count: 1 21 Name: Hazzard Count: 1 22 Name: Tony Abbott Siege Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/136ZAgF Title: Sydney Siege Gunman Was on Bail for Dozens of Sex Assault Charges and Accessory to Murder | VICE News Description: The Iranian-born Australian gunman who was shot dead after a 17-hour siege at a Sydney cafe had a history of violent behavior, and was on bail for a raft of sexual assault and murder charges, according to police.
