Jaycee Dugard Sues Government For "Gross Neglect" In Monitoring Garrido

In the ’70s, Phillip Garrido was sentenced to 50 years in prison for kidnapping a woman and keeping her in a storage shed, where he repeatedly raped her. He was let out after only 11 years. From 1988 to 1999 he was on federally-supervised probation, yet he managed to kidnap Jaycee Dugard and keep her in his backyard as his sex slave. Now Dugard is suing the federal government, saying numerous oversights by probation officers constitute, “gross neglect borders on virtual complicity.”

The L.A. Times reports that in her complaint, Dugard claims that Garrido, who pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to 431 years in prison, repeatedly tested positive for drug and alchol use, but this was never reported to the Parole Commission. Authorities also ignored several sexual harrassment complaints filed against Garrido, and “failed to make a single visit to Garrido’s home during at least three of the 10 years he was under federal parole supervision.” Though parole officers were supposed to visit Garrido monthly, they only came to his home 12 times, and they never found Dugard or the two children she gave birth to in captivity.

The complaint also states:

“Had federal parole authorities demonstrated a modicum of vigilance — indeed, had they simply performed their duties and obligations as required by federal law and internal policies — Jaycee and her daughters would not have been forced to endure a virtual lifetime of physical and mental abuse from a detonated ‘time bomb.'”

In 1999 California became responsible for Garrido’s parole, and the state has already paid Dugard a $20 million settlement for parole officers’ negligent behavior, according to CNN. Dugard’s lawyer says she decided to file the suit because the federal government has “summarily rejected” two requests for private mediation. A press release states that Dugard split the money with her daughters and used some to pay her legal fees. She hasn’t requested specific damages in the new complaint but says she, “is not seeking money for herself.” Any pay out from the government will go to the JAYC Foundation, a non-profit she started that helps families recovering from abductions and other traumatic experiences.

Jaycee Dugard Sues U.S. For ‘Gross Neglect’ In Supervising Garrido’s Parole [L.A. Times]
Kidnap Victim Files Complaint, Blasting Feds’ ‘Inexcusable’ Lack Of Oversight [CNN]