Sex offender Cary Smith leaves Garden Grove for Santa Ana after multiple moves around SoCal

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- After one day in Garden Grove -- and relocating to several locations throughout Southern California -- a sex offender is now staying in Santa Ana, authorities say.

According to the Garden Grove Police Department, Cary Jay Smith, 59, was no longer in Garden Grove on Tuesday. Santa Ana police tweeted Tuesday evening that Smith was at a health care center in the city.

Smith was moved to Garden Grove on Monday, just one day after also leaving San Diego County.

Smith has moved multiple times since he was released from a mental hospital earlier this month following more than 20 years of confinement.

Each time he has moved around Southern California, including Costa Mesa, Orange, Corona, Lake Elsinore, San Diego County, and most recently Garden Grove, his movements set off warnings to local communities from local law enforcement.

Sex offender and former Costa Mesa resident released from state mental hospital

A sex offender and former Costa Mesa resident held at a state mental hospital for more than 20 years has been released.

While Smith was confined to a mental hospital, he testified to having fantasies about raping and killing young boys, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. He also said he liked to go by Mr. RTK, standing for rape, torture, kill.

That history is what triggered warnings from law enforcement and the OCDA.

Each community where he has moved has protested his presence and demanded he leave. In Lake Elsinore, an angry group showed up at the motel where he was staying and deputies had to keep them from going inside to confront Smith.

A sex offender who was recently released from a mental hospital has relocated to San Diego County after moving several times around Southern California since he was set free, authorities say.

After that heated confrontation, deputies escorted Smith away from the motel. By Sunday night he had settled at a motel in the northern part of San Diego County.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department tweeted on Monday afternoon: "#UPDATE @SDSheriff can confirm Cary Jay Smith has left #SanDiegoCounty. It is always our goal to keep our communities safe. #KeepingYouSafe."

While authorities have warned the public about Smith's presence, they have also noted that he is not a registered sex offender, is not wanted for a crime and is not on probation or parole. He is free to move about as he wants. Nonetheless, law enforcement in every city he has stayed at has established surveillance over his whereabouts.

In 1985, Smith pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor sexual offense involving a child and was compelled to register as a sex offender; that requirement was removed by the state in 2005.

When asked recently, officials with the state Attorney General's Office would not comment specifically on why Smith was no longer required to register as a sex offender on the Megan's Law website.

But they noted that in general there are several reasons why a person might not be on the list. For example, the person may have been convicted of an offense which is not listed under the current legal requirements for registration. A person can also be relieved from the requirements for registration.

Smith was admitted to a psychiatric facility in 1999 after his wife provided a letter in which Smith described sex acts he wanted to perform on a 7-year-old boy who lived in their neighborhood.

That boy's mother, Lynn Vogt, says she feels fortunate that her son was never harmed but believes Smith will hurt others.

"Realistically, I'd love to see him locked up but I know that's probably not going to happen until he says or does something that shows, right now, today, that he's a danger to people," said Vogt. "The guy shouldn't be roaming free. There's just no way."

The Orange County District Attorney's Office in 2002 filed 20 felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor against him, but the charges were dismissed due to the statute of limitations.

During the years that Smith was held by the state, he was entitled to a new trial every six months to demonstrate that he was no longer a danger to society.

"During those hearings, Smith has repeatedly testified that he fantasizes about raping and then killing young boys in order to avoid being identified. He claims that he has killed three boys and molested 200," the DA's office said in a statement last week.

It does not appear those claims have been substantiated.

"He prefers to go by the name Mr. RTK, which stands for rape, torture, kill," the statement said, warning county residents about Smith's release from Coalinga State Hospital in Fresno County.