Recommended SVP for Parole at Poway Home

State hospital officials have recommended placement of a man designated as a sexually violent predator in a Poway home, it was announced Wednesday.

Merle Wade Wakefield, 67, was referred by the California Department of State Hospitals for placement in a home located at 15720 Sycamore Canyon Road.

Wakefield was convicted of sex crimes in 1981 and 1990 and sentenced to state prison, according to the San Diego district attorney’s office.

Wakefield is classified as a sexually violent predator, a designation for those convicted of sexually violent crimes and diagnosed with a mental disorder that causes a person to reoffend.

After serving their prison sentences, SVPs undergo treatment at state hospitals, but can also be ordered by courts to continue outpatient treatment, where they are monitored by GPS, among other measures.

Liberty Healthcare, which operates the state’s parole program for sexually violent predators, said no SVP has reoffended in the program’s 21-year history. While some SVPs have been paroled for violating their terms of release, Liberty officials say none of those violations were for new sex offenses.

An Aug. 9 hearing has been scheduled on the merits of the Poway placement, during which the public is typically allowed to make comments to the court about the appropriateness of the placement. The 9 a.m. hearing will be held in San Diego Central Court before Superior Court Judge Yvonne Campos.

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

Comments can be emailed to [email protected]; by calling 858-583-7238; or by sending a statement to SVP Release/SAFE Task Force, 9425 Chesapeake Drive, San Diego, 92123.