SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Two potential locations have been identified for the placement of Merle Wakefield, a 67-year-old convicted rapist, upon his release from a state mental hospital this week. Despite a court order attempting to keep the addresses secret, CBS 8 has learned that both locations were previously used to house other sexually violent predators.
One of the potential locations is a house at 1138 Custer Road in Campo. Christine Vergara, a Campo resident living a quarter mile from the home, expressed concern about the possible placement.
"We have a park down here. Community Center down here. We have a baseball field that everybody plays baseball soccer, I foster here, so we have six kids under the age of 12," Vergara told CBS 8.
Vergara recounted her experience with a previous sexually violent predator who lived at the same address. "The property boundaries he's supposed to stay in; Okay, so he'd be one foot in the boundary, one foot outside the boundary, just kind of like walking up and down the boundary, like to see how far he could get away with whatever. And so when I would pass by and I would see it, we would videotape it and send it to the sheriff's office."
The other potential location is a house at 42920 Desert Rose Ranch Road in Jacumba. This property was also previously used to house a sexually violent predator until their placement was revoked.
Under the terms of his release, Wakefield will be required to wear a GPS monitor, and a security guard will be onsite 24 hours a day.
The San Diego Sheriff's Department stated they have not yet been notified of Wakefield's final placement location. CBS 8 reached out to Wakefield's attorney for comment but did not receive a response.
A judge has ordered Wakefield's release by Tuesday, November 26.