Florida sex offender arrested at home used as day care, records show

WFTV reporter Mike Springer confronted the owner of the day care about why she let her son stay there until his arrest this week.

Flagler County deputies arrested Andre Watkins, 39, on Monday and said the registered sex offender lied about living in his mother's Ponderosa Lane home where she ran a day care.

Watkins registered as a sex offender several years ago, after deputies said he sent explicit photos to a teenage girl.

Records for the state Department of Children and Families shows the Teeter-Tot in-home family day care home is licensed at the address.

The day care can hold up to 10 children, all 5 and under, and the state inspected it three times this year.

One visit did turn up three issues: Children left unsupervised so a worker could grab medicine out of a car, no covers on electrical outlets and a 2-year-old asleep in a high chair because there was no proper bedding.

The inspection said all those issues were fixed on site.

A spokesperson for DFC released the following statement:

"The Department of Children and Families received notification of a registered sex offender living at a licensed family day care home. The provider admitted to DCF that the offender had been living at the home since Sept. 3 without the department’s knowledge. DCF immediately opened a joint child protective investigation and child care licensing review of the operations and the allegations at this family day care home. The department will continue to monitor the home and will impose the appropriate administrative violations and fines, including but not limited to revoking the license of this provider."