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Freed Sex Offender Not Sure 'He Can Resist'; Torrance Parents Outraged

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Residents in a quiet Torrance neighborhood on Thursday were stunned to learn that a convicted sex offender just released from prison admitted he may not be able to control himself.

KNX 1070's Jon Baird reports police have been out warning people in the area near Sepulveda and Maple that 58-year-old Ronald Lee Smith will soon be one of their neighbors.

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Smith has been convicted in two molestation cases: one in 1997 involving a 9-year-old girl in Sacramento, and the other in 2001 when he was convicted in Missouri of molesting a 4-year-old girl.

Ronald Lee Smith
Ronald Lee Smith (courtesy Torrance Police Dept.)

Both victims were children of acquaintances of Smith, police said.

Smith, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Missouri, according to court records, will remain on federal probation until 2021, police said.

Smith reportedly told Torrance police when he registered with them that he doesn't know if "he can resist" the urge to molest kids again.

"This man should spend the rest of his life in jail," said one resident.

Police described Smith as white, 5 feet 11 inches tall, and weighing 150 pounds, with gray hair, hazel eyes and a scar on his right forearm.

"It scares me," said another concerned mom. "I have two kids, and they like to walk to the store."

"That won't be happening anymore."

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