SAN DIEGO -- A judge set ground rules Tuesday for a hearing that will determine whether a sexually violent predator is released or held for more treatment in a state mental hospital.

Matthew Hedge, 42, was convicted in 1989 of molesting two boys and two girls.

He served his sentence and, in November, became the first sexually violent predator released into San Diego County after completing a multi-phase treatment program at Atascadero State Hospital.

Hedge was housed in a trailer outside Donovan State Prison in Otay Mesa.

On Jan. 6, Hedge was rearrested and returned to the hospital because state officials monitoring his movements said he talked to two girls at a treatment center, lied to his treatment staff and had a deviant sexual fantasy about a child.

At a hearing scheduled for Feb. 16, Superior Court Judge Laura Hammes will determine if Hedge can be released into San Diego County or whether he should undergo more treatment at Atascadero.

Deputy public defender Richard Gates urged the judge to limit prosecutors from relitigating Hedge's case and prevent them from presenting evidence on his past crimes.

"They want to scare you .... he's dangerous," Gates told the judge. "He remains an SVP in limbo between two (treatment) phases."

Questions directed to Hedge should be limited to "What did he do on outpatient and why did he do it," his attorney said.

The Feb. 16 hearing should focus on the conditions and clinical needs arranged for Hedge's outpatient status and what he allegedly did to violate them, Gates said.

But Hammes said prosecutors would be given some leeway during the three-day hearing on what caused Hedge to be classified as a sexually violent predator.

Because of confidentiality concerns, Liberty Healthcare, the agency contracted by the state to monitor Hedge's conditional release, is the only agency that knows what Hedge said to them that made them return him to Atascadero, said Deputy District Attorney Kristen Spieler.

Outside court, Gates said the upcoming hearing was unprecedented because the process has only been used for sex offenders and never for sexually violent predators.

A sexually violent predator is someone who has been convicted of a sex crime and has been diagnosed with a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes him or her likely to commit predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined.

Another sexually violent predator, Douglas Badger, was ordered released from Atascadero last December, but state officials are still trying to find suitable placement for him in San Diego.