A disgraced former Catholic priest, convicted of repeatedly raping a boy in the 1980s and released from prison on Friday, will be living across the street from a children's dance studio.

Paul Shanley, 86, moved to the town of Ware, Massachusetts, about 65 miles west of Boston, after being released from the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater where he completed a 12-year sentence.

His new home in a multi-unit building is opposite a recently opened dance studio that teaches children as young as age two.

The studio's owner, Arielle Lask, said she plans to install 'state-of-the-art' security systems and to make sure every child leaves the studio accompanied by an adult.

Disgraced former Catholic priest Paul Shanley, 86 (pictured on Friday), convicted of repeatedly raping a boy in the 1980s, was released from prison on Friday and will be living across the street from a children's dance studio in Ware, Massachusetts

Robert Hoatson (left) and Ruth Moore (right) demonstrate outside the prison after the defrocked priest was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to prison for 12 years

According to the sex offender registry list, Shanley is the fifth Level 3 sex offender to have an address on the street where his new home is (pictured). The registry shows there are currently 21 Level 3 sex offenders living within three miles of the street

As a condition of Shanley's (pictured) 10-year probation, he has been ordered to have no contact with children under age 16

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented a number of men in their case against the Boston Archdioceses, said his clients are upset that Shanley (pictured, February 1974) is being released

'It's awful that he's even on the streets of Ware,' Lask told The Boston Globe. 'Whether it's across the street or down the road, there are children everywhere.'

According to the sex offender registry list, Shanley is the fifth Level 3 sex offender to have an address on the street where his new home is. The registry shows there are currently 21 Level 3 sex offenders living within three miles of the street.

As a condition of Shanley's 10-year probation, he has been ordered to have no contact with children under age 16.

Convicted in 2005, Shanley's crimes were finally brought to light after The Boston Globe's Spotlight team published an in-depth report in 2002 on pedophile priests the Catholic Church was helping to protect.

The report led to thousands of accusations from alleged victims, providing evidence that the abuse spanned over decades.

It was later discovered that senior church members helped cover-up the scandal and shuffled abusive priests from parish to parish.

Originally believed to be only a few isolated cases, the Spotlight investigation sparked an international crisis within the church, with victims coming forward from numerous countries across the world.

The church ultimately paid out billions in costs and settlements.

Bernard Law, who was the Archbishop of Boston and had extensive knowledge of the abusive taking place under his leadership, resigned from his post in December 2002.

Shanley's victim stepped forward following a report by The Boston Globe exposed pedophile priests within the Catholic Church (Pictured, The Boston Globe June 2017)

The movie Spotlight, which focused on The Boston Globe's groundbreaking effort, won the Academy Award in 2015 for Best Picture (Pictured, Cast of the film 'Spotlight')

The report by the Spotlight team led to thousands of accusations against priests within the church, providing evidence that the abuse spanned over decades (Pictured, Spotlight team)

Soon after, he was appointed by Pope John Paul II the Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where he resides today.

Shanley's accuser, s then-27-year-old firefighter, said the now defrocked priest began abusing him when he was six years old.

The man said as the abuse scandal unfolded in the Archdiocese of Boston during the early 2000s, those painful memories returned, spurring him to come forward.

In 2015, a motion picture titled 'Spotlight' about the Boston Globe's efforts to expose the priests and the church's attempt to cover it up won the Academy Award.

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represented a number of men in their case against the Boston Archdioceses, said his clients are upset that Shanley is being released.

'Unfortunately, there is no mechanism in place which will prevent Paul Shanley from sexually abusing once again,' Garabedian said, according to USA Today.

'When it comes to a sexual abuser abusing an innocent child, the abuser can be 35 or 95 - there's no age limit.'

It was later learned that senior members of the church knew of the abuse and helped cover it up by shuffling abusers from parish to parish (Pictured, Bernard Law in December 2002)

Days before he was released, another alleged victim of the Shanely was interviewed by The New York Times, who described the priest as 'a sexual predator plus,' recalling how he took advantage a young man in need of help.

John Harris claims that in 1979, after struggling with depression and alcohol abuse, he reached out to Shanley for help.

'He raped me, under the pretense of helping me,' Harris, now 59, told the Times on Wednesday.

The Level 3 offender status Shanley received means likely to re-offend. State law prohibits people from using information in the registry to harass people.

Abuse victims say they're concerned Shanley, who isn't required to wear an electronic monitoring device, will not have enough supervision.

Shanley's lawyer says he's served his time and is not dangerous.

According to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, 911 new accusations against 463 priests emerged in 2016. Of those, at least 43 priests were defrocked from the Church and another 111 were suspended.