SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Monday afternoon, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department tweeted that convicted sex offender Cary Jay Smith has left San Diego County. The tweet added, “It is always our goal to keep our communities safe.”
Smith had been staying at a motel around the 78 corridor which caused concern for North County community leaders. “I just don't feel good about this situation,” said Melanie Burkholder, candidate for CA State Assembly's 76th District. “This is a very sick individual. He does not need to be roaming the streets,” she said Monday morning.
The Orange County District Attorney's Office says Smith claims to have killed three boys and molested 200 others.
San Diego County Undersheriff Mike Barnett spoke to ABC10 News on Sunday night. “He liked to be referred to while he was in the state mental hospital as Mr. RTK, which is rape, torture, kill,” he said.
It was last Tuesday when he said the CA Department of State Hospitals released Smith from Coalinga psychiatric facility without any restrictions under Megan's law, meaning he is not required to register as a sex offender.
Deputies say he's served his time and is free to go where he wants.
Before arriving in San Diego, the 59-year-old went to Orange, Corona and Lake Elsinore which sparked outrage in Los Angeles. In an effort to avoid any violence, San Diego deputies did not share his exact location but offered reassurance he was under 24-7 monitoring.
The Orange County District Attorney's Office said Monday that its waiting for answers from the Governor’s Office as to why the state released him from the hospital and why the CA Attorney General's Office reportedly revoked his sex offender registration requirement in 2005.
Monday, the Attorney General's Office referred ABC10 News to the Department of State Hospitals which said that it couldn't release information because of patient privacy laws.
