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Merle Wakefield, a sexually violent predator on conditional release in San Diego, cut his GPS monitor and disappeared on Sept. 25, prompting calls to freeze new placements.
Merle Wakefield, a 69-year-old sexually violent predator on conditional release in San Diego, absconded on Sept. 25 after cutting off his GPS monitor and discarding his cellphone, authorities said. He disappeared in the middle of the night in Rancho Bernardo while working at an Amazon warehouse. Security video shows him getting into the passenger side of a white Tesla, according to a Sept. 28 court filing.
GPS Monitor Alert and Response
Roughly 20 minutes after his GPS alerted, a staffer with Liberty Healthcare, the private contractor monitoring Wakefield, arrived at the work site. The staffer had planned to drive Wakefield home when his shift ended at 4 a.m. The GPS and the secure cellphone, both provided and monitored by Liberty, were found in bushes. Wakefield's car and keys were located at his home in Campo, where a court had placed him.
The fallout over a sexually violent predator running off remains to be seen. As the search for Wakefield continues, two more sexually violent offenders have been approved for release with a recommendation that they live in rural Boulevard. A court will consider that location later this month.
Officials Push to Freeze Placements
County Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond are fighting the placement. Desmond called it a punch in the gut that Wakefield escaped so easily. He wants to freeze future placements until Wakefield is caught and mistakes are addressed. He was also surprised to learn that Wakefield had a job and a car.
The public discourse around sexually violent predators, or SVPs, usually happens before one is about to be released into the community on conditional release, and that discussion is typically focused on where he will live. Once a court approves a location, little else is debated in the public eye. It came as a surprise to many that SVPs may not simply be confined to their residence.
Desmond said he has long tried to learn more about the parameters of what a person can do while on conditional release but has been met with silence. He described it as a very frustrating procedure when these people are let out with little information about guidelines, and to find out it is so easy to take off an ankle monitor and walk scot-free.
How Conditional Release Works
Conditional release is a step-down program that loosens the reins over time if the offender is doing well, or sends them back to the hospital if they fail. It can take years to work through conditional release, but it opens the possibility for the SVP to someday be released outright from monitoring and supervision, although they remain registered sex offenders and must follow those restrictions.
Sexually violent predators on conditional release in California are monitored by private contractor Liberty Healthcare. They are not on probation or parole, and are not monitored by law enforcement. Liberty declined to comment last week about Wakefield and referred questions to California's Department of State Hospitals, which hired Liberty.
The Department of State Hospitals declined to discuss Wakefield, citing patient privacy laws, but answered general questions about the step-down program and shared informational links. The department said that as people progress through the program, treatment, supervision, approved activities and access to community resources may change in accordance with their treatment plan and the terms and conditions of their release, as well as clinical and public safety considerations.
Participants may eventually seek work, State Hospitals said, but it must be approved in accordance with the terms and conditions of their release.
Who Are Sexually Violent Predators
Sexually violent predators have been convicted of a violent sex crime and diagnosed with a mental condition that makes them likely to re-offend. It is a relatively small group, and they are court-ordered to live in a state hospital after they serve their prison sentence. It is a civil commitment, not a criminal one. They are considered hospital patients. Law enforcement has no direct involvement.
At the hospital, they can choose to take part in a treatment program that could lead to release. Conditional release, which must be approved by a judge, is the final step, the bridge between inpatient treatment and full release back into the community. State Hospitals says 5.5% of the sexually violent predators in their care have achieved conditional release.
According to a department-provided fact sheet, conditional release is intensive community-based treatment and a 24/7 monitoring program with gradual steps toward increased community re-entry depending on treatment progress. The idea is the person will apply skills learned in the hospital to a supervised outpatient setting and ultimately supports a safe reintegration of the individual back to the community, State Hospitals said.
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Merle Wakefield San Diego Sexually Violent Predator Conditional Release Liberty Healthcare Department Of State Hospitals Rancho Bernardo
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