Jaycee Dugard Files Suit, Says Gov't Failed to Monitor Garrido
Jaycee Dugard's lawsuit shows how court-appointed psychologists, parole and prison officials repeatedly missed opportunities to arrest her abductor, Phillip Garrido, and shorten or even avoid her 18-year imprisonment.
Court documents supporting Dugard's lawsuit against the federal government reveal Garrido evaded the judicial system three times.
In 1972, Garrido was arrested for drugging and raping a 14-year-old girl. The case was dropped when the victim refused to testify.
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He escaped conviction again in June 1976 after luring a 19-year-old woman into his car and then handcuffing and raping her.
Garrido was arrested five months later after he abducted a Tahoe woman in November 1976. He kept her bound and handcuffed in a Reno, Nev., storage unit specially prepared with drugs, alcohol and pornography. Garrido repeatedly raped the victim for six hours before a suspicious police officer uncovered the hideaway.
He was tried and convicted of kidnapping and rape charges in 1977. Garrido was sentenced to serve two consecutive terms of a 50-year federal sentence and five years to life in Nevada.
Despite this ruling, Garrido was released from prison after serving less than 11 years in prison. Had Garrido served his full sentence, Dugard would have never been kidnapped in 1991.
Garrido and his wife, Nancy, abducted Dugard when she was 11 years old. They subdued her with a stun gun while she waited for the school bus.
Almost immediately, Dugard was subjected to perform lewd acts with Garrido. In her book, A Stolen Life, Dugard said the first night he stripped her of clothes and forced her to shower with him. The sexual acts soon escalated to the point where he was raping her nearly every day and using her to fulfill his perverse fantasies, which involved drugs, dress up and various lewd sexual acts.
Dugard was held captive by the Garridos for nearly two decades and gave birth to her two daughters, Angel and Starlet, in their makeshift backyard compound. The two daughters are also named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Court documents show that parole officers missed several opportunities to arrest Garrido and possibly put an end to Dugard's suffering.
Despite having a zero tolerance policy for drug and alcohol abuse during parole, officers repeatedly ignored Garrido's failed drug tests. They also disregarded complaints filed by Garrido's female coworkers who said he harassed them with unwanted attention.
Garrido was arrested once in 1993 for violating his parole. He spent five months in prison. During that time, Dugard recalled that Nancy Garrido continued to hold her captive until her husband returned.
Parole officers also neglected their duties to conduct monthly home visits. Federal parole officers failed to make a single visit to Phillip Garrido's resident during three of the 10 years he was under federal parole supervision. Those years included 1990, the year before Dugard was kidnapped; 1992, the year after she had been kidnapped; and 1994, the year Dugard gave birth to her first child fathered by Garrido.
In the decade that Garrido was under federal parole watch, the officers who supervised his case visited his residence less than a dozen times, attorney Dale Kinsella summed. None of those visits included an inspection of the backyard compound where Dugard was held captive.
Dugard recalled in her book having been present during some of the parole visits. The Garridos claimed that Dugard and her daughters were their children. No one questioned Dugard about her relationship to the Garridos.
Phillip Garrido's court-appointed psychologists, counselors and therapists also failed to uncover his deception. One psychologist reported that Garrido was sincere in his claims that he tested positive for speed because "someone spiked his drink."
Another counselor reported on November 13, 1997, that Garrido's progress was "excellent" and that he is no longer "at risk for violence." Ironically, this assessment was made the same day Dugard gave birth to her second child fathered through Garrido's repeated rapes.
Dugard and her daughters were eventually freed after University of California Berkeley police officers called Garrido in for questioning. He was later found guilty and was sentenced to 431 years in prison.
Dugard and her attorney are seeking general and special damages in the lawsuit.
