Edmund A. Rego - Repeat Sex Offender

A Level III sex offender was arrested Sunday morning for allegedly masturbating in front of a 7-year-old boy riding his bicycle on Spinnaker Way.

A woman jogging by Edmund A. Rego, 37, called police at about 9:15 a.m. reporting that the man was standing outside a white van with his penis exposed. Rego, of 534 Buffinton St., Fall River, fled when he noticed the woman, police said.

Officers spotted Rego’s van on Charlotte White Road around 11 a.m. and charged him with lewd and lascivious behavior, a felony. He was held on $25,000 cash bail pending his arraignment in Fall River Second District Court.

Rego told police he was on Spinnaker Way, a residential development off Route 177 between Tickle and Sodom roads, to do landscape work before visiting his parents’ home on Beeden Road, according to police. He was stopped by officers after picking up a co-worker and driving toward Tiverton.

A Level III sex offender is considered by the state Sex Offender Registry Board to have a high risk of re-offending and a high “degree of dangerousness posed to the public.” It is the highest-level offender status. Information on Level II and III offenders are available by request at any police station.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte