In the County Court last week a Melbourne man admitted to raping three women and indecently assaulting a fourth. It was an emotional moment for him. He dabbed his eyes with a tissue. And then, after pleading guilty – essentially owning up to being a serial rapist – Glenn Antony Hartland, or “Dylan” as he was known on the dating app Tinder, walked out of court.

Glenn Hartland used the name "Dylan" on Tinder. He's now calling himself "Glenn Potter".

Hartland returns to court in March, but for the next five months we have a dangerous rapist walking around Melbourne who procures his victims on Tinder with fake names. But not to worry, there are restrictions on him. He must report regularly to police and not set foot in South Yarra, Elwood, St Kilda and Prahran, where he committed his crimes. So the women in those suburbs can feel great about that; other Melbourne women, not so great.

One victim, who was shocked to learn Hartland, 44, was not immediately taken into custody, told Age court reporter Adam Cooper the rapist was an obvious candidate to be jailed until his court hearing. “He’s a current offender. It’s not like it was 50 years ago and he’s 85 years old. He’s in the prime of his offending.” (It’s also not a given he will obey court orders: he was jailed for two months from February this year for breaching an intervention order and breaching bail.)

When a serial rapist is released into the community – without any discussion with his victims – you have to wonder how seriously we are taking violence against women. In the wake of Jill Meagher’s murder by serial rapist Adrian Bayley, who was on bail and parole at the time, what has the criminal justice system really learnt about taking rape seriously? But the remarkable thing about this case is that the police were trying to do the right thing by Hartland’s victims – a fact that has made his release an even crueller blow.