That's right, 53 times

If you ever wondered why some law-abiding folks want things like “three strikes and you’re out” laws to protect them, consider Freddie Johnson of New York.

This fine example of a broken criminal justice system has been arrested … brace yourselves … 53 times, mostly for … brace yourselves again … rubbing up against women on subway trains.

Ick!

That’s right, 53 times. And who knows how many times this perv did his thing on women who were too disgusted or embarrassed to report it.

He just got out of prison on March 25 after serving four years for persistent sexual abuse. No surprise that he goes back to his favorite hobby.

The surprise is why he wasn’t put away a long, long time ago.

“The behavior is disturbing, there is no question,” said Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of treatment and rehabilitation of offenders at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “But in the larger scheme you want to commit the people who are grabbing kids off the street, or the rapist in Central Park.”

Well, yeah, I suppose so. Then again, you need to find a cell for serial offenders like Johnson, even if his crime is “minor.”

Prosecutors say that this time, Johnson could get up to life in prison. They’ve finally realized what a threat he is.

That’s nice. It should have happened about 50 arrests ago.