SECOND SEXUAL PREDATOR MAY MOVE TO MOUNT HELIX
Merle Wakefield, Douglas Badger could be in same house
State hospital officials on Tuesday proposed placing a second sexually violent predator at a home on Mount Helix, just weeks after the first proposed placement at the home prompted fierce backlash from hundreds of residents in the neighborhood near El Cajon.
A judge approved the conditional release of Merle Wade Wakefield, 64, in January. A virtual hearing to address his proposed placement at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive is set for 9 a.m. May 10 in San Diego Superior Court, at which time community members can listen in on Zoom and comment on the proposed placement location.
Last month, state officials proposed placing 78-year-old Douglas Badger at the same home on Horizon Hills Drive, just east of Avocado Avenue and north of Fuerte Drive. Last week, hundreds of Mount Helix residents gathered in a nearby cul-de-sac to organize their opposition efforts.
To be classified by the state as a sexually violent predator, or SVP, a person has to have been convicted of a violent sex crime against at least one victim, and be diagnosed with a condition that makes that person likely to re-offend.
According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Wakefield was convicted in 1981, when he was in his mid-20s, of committing lewd acts with a minor under 14 and sentenced to state prison. In 1990, Wakefield was convicted of rape by means of force, violence or fear and again sentenced to state prison.
Officials have not said what condition Wakefield was diagnosed with that
made him likely to reoffend.
The SVP designation, reserved for less than 1 percent of the state’s sexual offender population, means they can be confined in state hospitals long after serving their prison terms.
While at the state hospital, SVPs can take part in a treatment program aimed at curbing their criminal urges. Eventually, they can ask the court to release them to live in the community, under supervision by state authorities, where they are required to continue treatment on an outpatient basis. The process is a civil matter — not criminal.
The San Diego Superior Court found Wakefield to be a sexually violent predator in
1998 and committed him to the California Department of State Hospitals for confinement and sex offender treatment. He was recommitted to the state hospital in 2000 and again in 2009, and has been confined ever since in Coalinga State Hospital in Fresno County.
Last year, a state doctor completed her annual evaluation of Wakefield and opined that he could be safely released into the community through a supervised, conditional release program operated by Liberty Healthcare. Wakefield then filed a petition with the San Diego Superior Court requesting his conditional release, and after a December hearing to review his petition, Judge Albert Harutunian granted Wakefield’s request for conditional release.
In contrast to the isolated homes in rural communities where sexually violent predators are often placed, the Horizon Hills Drive home is located in a comparatively dense neighborhood in an unincorporated area just outside of El Cajon city limits.
The owner of the home at 10957 Horizon Hills Drive has not returned multiple messages seeking comment over the past two weeks.
Those wishing to view Wakefield’s May 10 hearing and offer comment can do so on Zoom. The link can be found on the District Attorney’s Office website at https:// www.sdcda.org/preventing/ sex-offenders/sex-offenders. Public comments can also be submitted by email to sdsafe@sdsheriff.org or by calling (858) 495-3619 before April 28.