Many of the addresses for sex offenders on the Megan's Law website are outdated or just plain bogus. After a tip from a viewer, NBC San Diego found the address of a registered sex offender on the website was actually a bush outside of a McDonald's in Santee.
James Michael Casino, 64, served time for rape by force. Casino's address is listed at 8878 Cuyamaca Street in Santee; there is no such address. After an investigation we found the address, if it existed, would have been between a McDonald's and a KFC.
The Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force, which rounded up more than 300 local sex-offenders earlier this week, looked into the address and discovered a typo.
Authorities say the address is off by one number. Casino is actually in a nursing home a block away.
The Megan's Law website notes that some of the registrants may have relocated. Local prosecutors caution the site is just a basic tool.
"What I would suggest is wherever you are, you need to be hyper-vigilant and self-protective," said deputy district attorney Phyllis Shess. "There are 4-thousand offenders. That's less than 1 percent of our population. But we only have so many law enforcement officers available to ride herd on them."
For law enforcement keeping track of registered sex offenders can be a challenge, most have to re-register once a year, sexually violent predators every 90 days, transients every 30 days.
