South OC Times

Poway, CA – Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) condemned the decision by the California Department of State Hospitals and the San Diego Superior Court to place Merle Wakefield, a Sexually Violent Predator with a criminal record dating back almost 40 years, into a private home in Poway, CA.

“This is only the latest effort by Governor Newsom and Sacramento to dump some of the most dangerous and threatening criminals from custody and warehouse them in our community near the children and their families who would be their next victims,” said Rep. Issa. “As we have before, we will rally the parents, residents, and leaders of our East County community and stop this unthinkable decision.”

Sexually Violent Predators (SVPs) are clinically diagnosed individuals convicted of serious and sexually violent crimes. They are diagnosed and designated by medical doctors as incurable and are neither undergoing treatment nor in recovery. They are an obvious danger to any community, which is why these individuals should be confined within secure facilities, not in local neighborhoods. In addition, more SVPs have been placed in the 48th Congressional District than any other in California.

Poway Mayor Steve Vaus added: “Wakefield, who suffers from uncontrollable impulses and has been deemed a threat to all women, would be a ticking time bomb in such close proximity to horse facilities where many women and girls are present day and night. Poway will stand together to say: Not here, not now, not ever!”

“According to the most recent data, more than 70 percent of SVPs released into communities in California violated the terms of their release and were returned to custody. But California’s state government continues to force these predators into residential areas alongside parents, children, and seniors,” said Rep. Issa. “There is a far better solution than the current broken system that seeks to compel communities to accept the relocation of dozens of these violent predators.”

In November 2023, Rep. Issa introduced The Stopping Sexually Violent Predators Act, which aims to reset the current system.

The Stopping SVPs Act will:

- End federal taxpayer funding for SVPs outside correctional or secure medical facilities.

- Require states to report all convicted SVPs to the federal Department of Justice for review of potential federal charges.

The bill text can be found here.