A San Diego Superior Court judge has ordered a man designated as a sexually violent predator to be released as a transient because officials failed to provide him with a place to live.

But release for Merle Wakefield is not imminent. His case will go before Judge Yvonne Campos again on Nov. 20, when officials are expected to present a plan to free Wakefield, which could include placing the 67-year-old in a motel. If Wakefield is eventually released as a transient, Campos ordered that he have round-the-clock personal security.

Campos’ order to release Wakefield follows three previous attempts to find him housing; the most recent was a proposal in July to place it in Poway, but it was quickly cancelled. The court denied a request to place him on Mount Helix in 2021, and another site was canceled that year when he was returned to Coalinga State Hospital for more treatment as a sexually violent predator.

Temporary releases of people designated as sexually violent predators have been ordered in San Diego twice before — both in December of last year. But in both cases, state officials were able to find permanent housing before the men were released, and they now live in the same house in Jacumba Hot Springs.

Sexually Violent Predators, or SVPs, have been convicted of a violent sexual crime and diagnosed with a mental health condition that makes them likely to reoffend. It’s a relatively small group, less than 1 percent of the state’s sex offender population.

They are sent to Coalinga State Hospital, where they can choose to participate in a treatment program designed to curb criminal impulses. Participation could eventually lead to their parole. But it takes a judge to give the OK, under strict restrictions, and they would have to go back to the county that originally sent them to prison.

The Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Wakefield, declined to comment on his case Thursday.

Wakefield was convicted in 1981 of lewd acts with a minor under 14, then convicted in 1990 of rape by force, violence or fear, according to the Prosecutor’s Office. After his release from prison in 1998, he was officially designated a sexually violent predator.

The prosecution opposes Wakefield’s request for release as transient. “We believe that transient releases pose a significant risk to the community and do not allow for adequate monitoring and oversight,” the office said in a statement.

The bureau said it is up to the state Department of Hospitals, which treats people considered sexually violent predators, and its contractor, Liberty Healthcare, to find suitable housing for people ordered to parole.

“We will continue to oppose transitional releases and insist that the Department of State Hospitals fulfill its duty to find suitable permanent placement,” the Prosecutor’s Office said.

State Department of Hospitals officials noted Thursday that they do not place people designated as sexually violent predators in a community “until a court has determined it is safe and appropriate to do so.”