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By Miriam RafteryJuly 13, 2024 (Poway) – The proposed placement of sexually violent predator Merle Wade Wakefield at a home on Sycamore Ranch Road in Poway has been revoked by the California Department of State Hospitals, after vocal community opposition. The state has not provided a reason for the withdrawal.
Wakefield, 67, was convicted of lewd acts on a child in 1981 and violent rape in 1990. He served time in prison and underwent treatment in a state hospital. Diagnosed as a sexually violent predator likely to reoffend, he has been proposed for release locally three times. A judge rejected a proposed placement in the Mt. Helix area; later the state withdrew proposed placement in Borrego Springs and asked that Wakefield undergo additional treatment.
Supervisor Joel Anderson wrote a letter to Judge Yvonne Esperanza Campos opposing Wakefield’s placement in Poway and circulated a petition for his constituents to sign. In his letter, Anderson said Liberty Healthcare, the contractor for the State Dept. of Hospitals’ conditional release program, “continues to target East San Diego as a dumping ground for SVPs.
Anderson notes that in our county, which has 4,207 square miles, zero sexually violent predators have been released into supervisorial districts 1, 3, or 4. Wakefield’s release would have resulted in 70% of the SVPs currently in our region being placed in Anderson’s district 2, with the rest in Supervisor Jim Desmond’s district 5.Anderson noted that Poway is a family-friendly community ranked the 8th safest city in California in 2024. In addition, he called for any of Liberty’s proposed SVP placements to be delayed until after an audit of Liberty Healthcare by the Legislative Audit Committee requested by State Senator Brian Jones is completed.
Poway Mayor Steve Vaus hailed news that the state has withdrawn Wakefield’s proposed monitored release in Poway. On X, Vaus posted, “Victory!” adding, “POWAY’s voice was heard—not here, not now, not ever.”
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Sex offenders
All this hoorah