Sheriff Advises Lemon Grove, Spring Valley Residents of Sex Offender

Updated at 7:07 p.m. Oct. 4.

A sex offender whose status as a sexually violent predator was recently lifted by the court has informed authorities that he is transient in the Lemon Grove and Spring Valley area, says the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Seven years ago, Matthew Harvey Hedge, 49, became the first sexually violent predator from Atascadero State Hospital to be released into San Diego County. In November 2005, he was located to a trailer on the grounds of Donovan State Prison in Otay Mesa.

Just two months later, however, he was returned to Atascadero after violating terms of his outpatient program by speaking to two girls at a local treatment center, lying to counselors and admitting to having had a deviant sexual fantasy involving a child.

Hedge was convicted in 1989 of molesting two boys and two girls. He served a 12-year prison term, then was sent to the state mental hospital for treatment in 1997.

The court lifted his designation as a sexually violent predator Sept. 28. He is no longer is required to wear a tracking device and “is free to live and go anywhere,” the Sheriff's Department advised in a public notice.

Hedge told the sheriff's license and registration division Tuesday that he is homeless, and now transient in Lemon Grove and Spring Valley. The sheriff's advisory stated he is not wanted, and is not currently on parole or probation, though he is required to check in with authorities every 30 days to let them know where he is.

Megan's Law allows law enforcement authorities to notify communities about sex offenders who frequent the area as a matter of public safety.

“This notification (about Hedge) is not intended to induce fear,” the sheriff's advisory stated. ”Rather, it is our belief that an informed community is a safer community.”

The Sheriff's Department says Hedge is white, 5-feet 7-inches tall, and weighs 191 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes. He has a known alias of Greg Alan Lindsey, and may be driving a maroon 2000 Ford F-150 or silver 2012 Hyundai Sonata.

—City News Service contributed to this article.