Report Examines California's Watch of Phillip Garrido
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Updated: 4:18 AM Nov 4, 2009
Report Examines California's Watch of Phillip Garrido
Today, California's inspector general plans to release the results of a two-month inquiry into the handling of the Jaycee Dugard's kidnapping case.
Posted: 3:51 AM Nov 4, 2009
Reporter: STAFF
Email Address: news@kolotv.com
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Phillip Garrido served 11 years behind bars for a rape conviction. After that, he was supposed to be closely watched by parole officers, from 1988-2009. But, during that time, he allegedly kidnapped Jaycee Lee Dugard and kept her hidden in his backyard of his Antioch, California home. Jaycee, who was eleven when it happened, is now 29, and not one parole officer ever uncovered the alleged crime.

In turn, California's inspector general began an inquiry into the handling of Jaycee's kidnapping case. Today, the results of that report will be released. Expectations are that it will cite what mistakes may have been made by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in their handling of Garrido's parole.The report will not include any findings from the time Garrido spent supervised by Federal and Nevada agencies. But, it might answer a major question: How did Garrido allegedly manage to keep her hidden from authorities for 18 years even as he was being monitored by parole officers because of a previous rape conviction?

Our Sacramento affiliate spoke with the CDCR not long after Garrido was arrested. Scott Kernan says he thinks the department acted appropriately, and he's proud of how the agency responded to the case.

Meanwhile, a legal expert from Sacramento says he thinks the parole agency didn't have enough time to accurately follow up on Garrido.

"What happened is, nobody had enough time to do the job they're assigned to do. "There is no doubt that the end report is going to say (the CDCR) had too many cases, and nobody could do as good a job as they would have done had they had more manpower. That's the standard response from every government agency that fails," explains Bill Portanova, a criminal defense attorney. He adds that when it comes to the system, there is a problem. Too many non-violent offenders are put in the same class as violent sex offenders. "There are violent, sexually destructive, assaultive predators who should be given 1,000 times more attention than all the other felons. But they're getting the same attention because they're felons."

Authorities say Garrido was under federal parole supervision and
required to register as a sex offender when he allegedly snatched
Dugard in 1991.

The 29-year-old Dugard was reunited with her family in August.

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