Sexually violent offender released on parole in Poway

POWAY, Calif. — Officials at a state hospital have recommended that a man identified as a sexually violent offender be placed in a Poway home, it was announced Monday.

Merle Wade Wakefield, 67, has been recommended for placement in a nursing home at 15720 Sycamore Canyon Road by the California Department of State Hospitals.

According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Wakefield was convicted of sex offenses in 1981 and 1990 and sentenced to prison.

Wakefield is considered a sexually violent offender. This category includes people who have been convicted of sexually violent crimes and have been diagnosed with a mental disorder that increases the likelihood that the person will reoffend.

After serving their prison sentence, SVPs are treated in state hospitals, but can also apply to the court to continue treatment in outpatient facilities, where they are monitored by GPS, among other things.

Liberty Healthcare, which runs the state’s sex offender parole program, has said that not a single sex offender has reoffended in the program’s 21-year history. While some sex offenders have had their parole revoked for violations of release conditions, Liberty officials said none of those violations were due to new sex offenses.

A court hearing on the suitability of the Poway site is scheduled for August 9. Typically, citizens are allowed to submit comments to the court about the suitability of the site. The hearing will take place at 9 a.m. in the San Diego Central Courthouse before Superior Court Judge Yvonne Campos.

Public comments may also be submitted through July 22 to the SAFE Task Force, a regional law enforcement team that monitors and enforces sex offender registration laws in the county.

Comments may be submitted by email to [email protected], by phone at 858-583-7238, or by mail to SVP Release/SAFE Task Force, 9425 Chesapeake Drive, San Diego, 92123.