Newly Released Documents Point to Garrido Mistakes

Phillip Garrido was supervised by California's parole agents far less often than he should have been during the early 2000s, according to an internal review document by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

It wasn't until 2007 that CDCR staff met the minimum supervision requirements -- eight years after he became the responsibility of California's parole system.

The convicted rapist was also incorrectly classified as a low-risk sex offender, which, according to the report, meant he received fewer home visits and was subjected to less drug testing and outpatient treatment than he would have seen as a high-risk offender.

Document: CDCR Internal Review (pdf)  

 The documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by KCRA in Sacramento and other news organizations, revealed parole staff didn't visit Garrido's home until May 8, 2000 -- nearly a year after his California parole supervision started.

Garrido and wife Nancy are accused of kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard from her Lake Tahoe-area home in 1991 and keeping her at their Contra Costa County home. Phillip Garrido is also accused of fathering Dugard's two children while she was still a minor.


  "Garrido also should have been ordered to attend parole outpatient treatment, but was not ordered to do so until November 2007."
    - CDCR internal review



According to the report, from June 8, 1999, to December 2000, parole staff visited Garrido three times at home, conducted office visits eight times, talked with him twice by phone and drug tested him six times. They also received five monthly reports by mail.Parole agents should have visited Garrido at home 14 times and twice at the office, the report says, and he should have been drug tested 16 times over the 18-month period.

"Garrido also should have been ordered to attend parole outpatient treatment, but was not ordered to do so until November 2007," the internal review states.In early October, the document was presented to California's inspector general, who in turn issued a withering criticism of the corrections department.

In early November, CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate publicly apologized for his department's handling of the case, about two months after Dugard surfaced."We agree that serious errors were made over the last 10 years," Cate told reporters at the Capitol in Sacramento. "We obviously deeply regret any error that could have possibly resulted in the victims living under these conditions for even one additional day."

 Parole agents should have visited Garrido at home 14 times and twice at the office, the report says, and he should have been drug tested 16 times over the 18-month period.

"Garrido also should have been ordered to attend parole outpatient treatment, but was not ordered to do so until November 2007," the internal review states.

In early October, the document was presented to California's inspector general, who in turn issued a withering criticism of the corrections department.

In early November, CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate publicly apologized for his department's handling of the case, about two months after Dugard surfaced.

"We agree that serious errors were made over the last 10 years," Cate told reporters at the Capitol in Sacramento. "We obviously deeply regret any error that could have possibly resulted in the victims living under these conditions for even one additional day."

This article originally appeared on KCRA.com.

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