Released child killer problem-free during first month of freedom

A child killer released from custody last month after almost 50 years behind bars made it through his first 30 days of freedom trouble-free, his supervisor reported to a McHenry County judge Friday.

Gary Welsh, 70, has been living in a Rockford apartment since a judge reluctantly released him from state custody April 8, almost 48 years after he raped and murdered a 3-year-old girl he was baby-sitting in Harvard.

In that time, he has attended both group and individual counseling for sex offenders and not violated any of the three dozen conditions he must live under to remain free, said Steve Glazier, Welsh's conditional release agent.

"Mr. Welsh has been compliant with both his supervision and treatment," he added. "There have been no problems in his treatment."

Welsh initially was set to go free in 2004 after completing his prison term for the 1962 murder of Marlene Casteel inside her parents' home. Authorities said he suffocated the girl while muffling her cries with a pillow during a sexual assault.

But just days before his parole, state authorities petitioned to have Welsh declared a sexually violent person, a designation that allowed them to hold him beyond his incarceration date.

He finally was released in April after a pair of state psychologists testified that although Welsh remains a pedophile, he is not a substantial risk to the community and should go free.