Convicted sex offender who targeted children now in North County

NORTH COUNTY (CNS) - The San Diego County Sheriff's Department said

today 59-year-old Cary Jay Smith, a convicted sex offender recently released

from a state psychiatric hospital, is now staying at a North County motel.

Smith had briefly relocated to the cities of Orange and Corona, then

Lake Elsinore, officials said Sunday.

``Cary decided to leave the Lake Elsinore area. Thank you to everyone

who engaged with us upon learning he was in our community,'' the Riverside

County Sheriff's Lake Elsinore station posted on Facebook.

The San Diego Sheriff's Department tweeted about 3:30 p.m. Sunday that

the agency ``is monitoring a sex offender released by Coalinga State

Hospital two weeks ago to ensure the safety of our communities. 59-year-old

Cary Jay Smith is staying at a motel in the North County. He's moved around

Orange and Riverside Counties since his release.''

A watch commander said the sheriff's department is not currently

releasing the name of the city in North County where Smith is staying.

``Smith is not wanted for any crime,'' the sheriff's department tweet

continued. `He is not on parole or probation and can move without restrictions.

Do not contact, confront or attempt to apprehend Smith.''

A protest against Smith staying in Lake Elsinore had been planned but

was called off following the announcement that he had left the area.

Smith was released from Coalinga State Hospital on Tuesday after

spending 21 years there for openly fantasizing about raping and killing

children.

He stayed in Los Angeles for one night before making his way to

Orange, where he checked into a halfway home on Thursday, said Sgt. Phil

McMullin of the Orange Police Department.

On Saturday morning, Corona police said Smith had relocated to a motel

in that city, where he was being surveilled by law enforcement.

``Mr. Smith is not on any form of supervised release or required to

register as a sex offender. Smith can move around without restrictions,''

Corona police said in a Twitter message.

At 9:05 p.m. Saturday, Corona police tweeted: ``A short time ago Cary

decided to leave the City of Corona. Thank you to everyone who engaged with us

upon learning he was in our community.''

A few hours later, the Riverside County Sheriff's Lake Elsinore

station issued a community alert. ``Convicted Sex Offender Cary Smith is

CURRENTLY in the city of Lake Elsinore,'' it read. ``...Deputies from the

Riverside County Sheriff's Department are currently watching Smith while he is

staying at a local hotel to ensure the safety of our community. Smith is not on

any form of supervised release nor is he required to register as a sex

offender. Smith is allowed to move around without restrictions.

``We will update the community when he leaves the city.''

Last week, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and Board of

Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel issued a news release about Smith and

sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom asking for help researching why Smith was no

longer required to register as a sex offender despite a conviction and

requirement to do so in 1985.

Newsom's office referred questions to the Department of State

Hospitals. Ken August of the Department of State Hospitals said state and

federal privacy laws prohibited the department from commenting.

Smith appeared to be ``very mild and passive'' when McMullin spoke

with him Thursday night.

State and Orange County Health Care Agency officials referred Smith to

the facility. Police warned the administrator of the facility about Smith's

past, but he was accepted.

Smith pleaded guilty in 1985 to a misdemeanor sex offense against a

child, requiring him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life,

Spitzer said.

However, in 2005, that requirement was lifted for an unknown reason,

Spitzer said.

``We need to look into this and know why he is no longer a lifetime

290,'' Spitzer said, referring to the code in the law that requires sex

offenders to register with authorities so they can be tracked.

``We believe he is a lifetime registrant,'' Spitzer said.

In 2002, prosecutors attempted to charge Smith with sexual assaults on

a 13-year-old, but the case was thrown out because of an issue with the

statute of limitations, Spitzer said.

Smith was committed to Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino in 1999

on a psychological hold when his wife gave a psychiatrist a letter her

husband wrote that described sex acts he fantasized about on a 7-year-old boy

in his neighborhood in Costa Mesa, according to prosecutors.

The state kept him locked up in a state hospital under a civil

commitment that concluded he was a danger to children, according to

prosecutors. Under that law, he had the opportunity to seek release in a trial

every six months.

But during the hearings, he has testified that he continues to

fantasize about sexually assaulting and killing young boys, prosecutors said.

``He calls himself `Mr. RTK,' which stands for rape, torture, kill,''

Spitzer said. ``That's what I think has kept him in. He says, `If you don't cut

off my penis and hands I will molest again.'''

Spitzer said he has no real connection to the case because it was a

civil commitment, but wanted to warn the public about the potential danger.

``It's just really upsetting and aggravating to me that one of the

governor's departments released a guy who is such an aberration and outlier and

it doesn't advise the public,'' Spitzer said.

``That's crazy to me. So the only thing I can do under the law is warn

people and get his picture out there and build awareness of him, but I

can't do much else.''

It was the county counsel's office that had the authority to object to

Smith's release, but it was apparently not notified this time and the hold

on him expired on Saturday, Steel and Spitzer said in their letter to Newsom.

Spitzer said his office has been in touch with the state Attorney

General's Office to determine why the sex offender registration requirement was

lifted and whether it can be reinstated.