Sex Offender Who Goes By 'Mr. Rape, Torture, Kill' Has Left CA

COSTA MESA, CA — Authorities on Friday said convicted child molester Cary Jay Smith is believed to have relocated out of state. However, it's unclear if Smith, who gave himself the moniker Mr. RTK (rape, torture, kill), has registered as a sex offender in his new state. It is certain that his move was not widely publicized in his new community.

Smith stirred widespread outrage last year when he was released from a state psychiatric hospital even though he spent decades vowing to molest again and openly fantasizing about torturing and killing little boys. As of Saturday morning, he was listed on the California Department of Justice's sex offender registry as being in violation of a requirement to inform law enforcement agencies of his whereabouts. According to the Department of Justice, his last known address was in Costa Mesa.

On Friday, the Costa Mesa Police Department confirmed that Smith notified the department of his plans to leave California last year, keeping him in compliance with the law.

"When he left Costa Mesa last year, we were notified by his attorney, and we confirmed where he ultimately landed and began his out-of-state residency," said Costa Mesa Police Department Lt. Ed Everett. "He’s moved out of state."

According to Everett, an oversight may have led to Smith being listed as "in violation" of the state's sex offender registry. He said he expected the California Department of Justice website to be updated within days.

Everett said his department immediately notified the Department of Justice and law enforcement in Smith's new state of his move last year. Patch could find no record of Smith registering as a sex offender out of state. The National Sex Offender registry still has him listed as living in Costa Mesa.

Smith's brief time in Southern California in the summer of 2020 caused widespread alarm and protests. Police where he attempted to relocate, including Santa Aa, Garden Grove and San Diego, Los Angeles and Riverside counties were compelled to monitor his movements.

Smith was released from Coalinga State Hospital in July 2020 after spending 21 years at that facility under a civil commitment. He had been institutionalized in 1999 after his wife gave a psychiatrist a letter he wrote that described his violent sexual fantasies about a 7-year-old boy in his neighborhood in Costa Mesa, according to prosecutors. Every six months he was given a chance to leave the hospital, but repeatedly told a review board that would hurt children if he got out again.

In fighting Smith's release in 2020, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer quoted Smith saying, "If you don't cut off my penis and hands, I will molest again."

However, as a result of the pandemic, Smith did not have a hearing, and a judge decided to release him, said Everett.

Upon his return to Costa Mesa, the police department monitored him and kept the family of the boy he had fantasized about informed, according to Everett.

Since Smith left the city, he is no longer the responsibility of the Costa Mesa Police Department, Everett said, but he declined to say where Smith relocated. If Smith returns to California, it would be his responsibility to notify law enforcement, added Everett. Smith is required to register as a sex offender in the state of California due to a 1985 conviction for a misdemeanor sex offense against a child.

Smith's attorney Staycie Sena did not respond to requests from Patch for comment Friday. Upon his release, she insisted that he was deemed to no longer be a danger to others. She said he would continue to be monitored closely by law enforcement officials and work with mental health professionals.

Acting on a credible tip, Patch reached out to the Sheriff's Department in Maricopa County, Arizona where he was believed to have moved in September of 2020. Smith is not listed on the department's sex offender registry, and multiple spokespersons for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department did not return calls for comment Friday. A spokesperson for the California attorney general's office would not say if Smith is required to register as a sex offender in other states.

Maricopa County includes the cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Gilbert. Smith is not currently incarcerated in Maricopa County or any county in Arizona, according to a search of Arizona's 15-county penal system.

It is unclear if Smith currently resides in Maricopa County.

Orange County's district attorney on Saturday said he's glad that Smith has left the state, but it's not good enough.

"I'm very glad he's left California. He obviously knew we were going to be merciless in our efforts to be sure he was monitored like a hawk," said Spitzer.

However, Smith would be required to register as a sex offender in almost every state, he said.

"If he is not showing up on a registry, that is troubling," Spitzer added. "I am not satisfied at this point with how this is going."

Even though Smith is now outside his jurisdiction, Spitzer said he feels obligated to make sure Smith registers as a sex offender and that his new community knows about the threat he poses.

" We are definitely going to follow up and make sure this is legitimate and not a ruse," Spitzer said. "I want to be sure where he is at, that local law enforcement knows about him and whether he's registered."