Florida sex offender found living at home day care, deputies say

Suspect accused of lying about address so business wouldn't suffer

Andre Watkins

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A Florida sex offender who was living at a home that doubled as a day care lied about his address so his mother's business wouldn't suffer, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said Andre Watkins, 39, was released from jail on Sept. 3 on a stalking charge unrelated to his sex offender status and told authorities that he would be living in a wooded area behind a Walmart on Cypress Point Parkway.

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When deputies went to do an address verification on Friday, they said they couldn't find Watkins there so they went to his mother's house on Ponderosa Lane in Palm Coast to check there. Watkins' mother said she hadn't seen her son and didn't know where he was living, according to a news release.

Watkins contacted the Sheriff's Office later that same day and told them he was living at a home on Selborne Path, but when deputies went there, they said the homeowner told them Watkins was not living there.

On Sunday, deputies received an anonymous tip from someone who said Watkins was living with his mother. Authorities said they went to his mother's home that night and Watkins answered the door.

Watkins told deputies that he lied about living on Ponderosa Lane because his mother ran a home business and he didn't want her business to suffer, according to the affidavit.

He said he would leave the home when children were present, records show.

"Sex offender rules are not optional," Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. "If you are designated a sex offender in Flagler County, know that our deputies will follow up with you to ensure that you comply with the regulations. Lying to us about your address is highly discouraged because we will find you and you will go back to jail. Our deputies and detectives did a great job in getting this offender back in an address we can verify, the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility."

Watkins was arrested on a charge of failure to report an address change within 48 hours.


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