One Child's Life

Phillip Craig Garrido had been released from prison where he served time for a forcible rape and kidnapping conviction. When Garrido was arrested in Reno, Nevada in 1976 he was only 25. But the situation encountered by police during the arrest would suggest this man may not have been new to the crime of kidnap and rape if not worse. The storage unit where he took his victim was indicative of a well planned crime, equipped with movie projector, sexual toys, pornography, wine and hot water. Had Reno police not have happened on the victims car parked in front of the storage unit, and heard her scream her fate may have been different.

Garrido was sentenced to 50 years in Federal Prison for the kidnapping, and 5 years to life for the sexual assault in the State of Nevada. Had he served the 50 years alone, Garrido would not have been in any position to kidnap or rape any other girls/women until the year 2026. Yet, for the past 18 years someone's missing daughter, one of the many faces we have seen on the posters of missing children, Jaycee Dugard - was being held captive by this man, bearing him children when she was a mere child herself - and living the life he should have been. Locked away from the world. Prisoner.

How? After only eleven years Garrido was transferred from Federal Prison to Nevada to begin serving his time there on January 22, 1988. By August 26, 1988 Garrido was already paroled in the State of Nevada. His parole was then moved to California. A violation sent him back to prison for several months from April to August of 1993. Amazingly, Jaycee Dugard, who was 11 years old when she disappeared on June 10, 1991 while walking to a bus stop near her home - would have been his prisoner while he was serving mere months for his violation of parole. This fact alone shows Garrido's wife Nancy was as culpable as her husband in this crime if not more as someone was in charge of the then 14 year old girl.

During the years authorities had been called to Garrido's home several times. Needless to say they missed the chance each time to rescue Jaycee Dugard, her children, and possibly others. A neighbor had reported to police that Garrido had "women and children" living in the backyard, suggesting there may have been more than one woman. Had Garrido been kept in Federal Prison for even half of his original term, his victim count would not have grown to include two more innocent victims - the children Jaycee Dugard gave birth to.

Joseph Edward Duncan III was arrested for his first recorded sex crime in 1978 when he was only 15 years old. Duncan raped a 9 year old boy at gunpoint. Sentenced as a Juvenile he later told his therapist that he had bound and assaulted six boys. He also claimed he had raped 13 younger boys by the time he was 16. Yet, he was already free into our society to commit more crimes in 1980 when he was arrested for stealing guns from his neighbor and abducting and sodomizing a 14 year old boy at gunpoint.

Yet, this animal was not done torturing children. He was released again after only 14 years, arrested for parole violations, released again, and left a string of victims behind him. The culmination of his life of crimes against children came when he murdered 8 year old Shasta Groene's mother and the mother's fiancé, and Shasta's older brother Shane in their home before kidnapping Shasta and her brother Dylan age 9. Shasta and Dylan spent six weeks being repeatedly raped while being told by Duncan how he had bludgeoned their family to death. Thanks to a waitress at a Denny's restaurant in Coer d'Alene, Idaho who did not hesitate to call authorities when she recognized the little girl, Shasta was finally rescued. Dylan's body was discovered days later in a remote wooded area. Shasta will live the rest of her life with the scars enacted by one man who should never have left prison. A man, no - a monster - who later admitted to killing three other children.

Many experts say violent sexual predators do not respond to treatment. Idaho Correction's Department Director Tom Beuclair was reported as saying "As long as they are kept out of certain environments and certain situations, they're fairly controllable". Most offenders commit what authorities call "situational offending" - meaning that if exposed to victims through friends, relatives, etc. they are prone to commit a crime.

Yet, our society is full of children. To "keep them out of certain environments" would to me mean to keep them out of society. The staggering amount of sexual re-offenders says the time they do spend in prison does nothing to "cure" them or to even "frighten" them into not committing the same or more horrendous crime. Many are even segregated from the main prison population where they would meet "prison justice", a justice which seems more befitting than that passed on by our judicial system.

Restrictions placed on these violent offenders when they are released into our midst can never protect our children. Registration of sex offenders simply lets authorities know where to look after another child/person has been victimized, and let's parents know these people live near by. It does nothing to prevent. Obviously, parole supervision has also failed to protect or prevent atrocities in our communities.

While "professionals" and "authorities" argue the numbers on how many sexual predators are likely to re-offend, the damage left behind by even one more victim should be enough to force changes. While some argue for "chemical castration" as an answer, they forget the mind can not be castrated and many sexual predators throughout history were incapable of "normal sex" - therefore castration would most likely only create a new type of animal.

Prison terms without parole, prison terms these excuses for humans actually serve would be a start. Are our prisons full? Yes. But, it is like a friend told me "put people in prison who scare me, the rapists and the murderers, not the guy who bought a bag of weed or failed to pay his fines". The reality is, our prisons are full of "criminals" who's crimes may be only against themselves or an authority. Even a man who has an 18 month sentence for failing to comply on probation or to pay fines - is taking up space better served to house people like Duncan and Garrido. Protecting our children would seem more important to me than protecting our "justice (translate to money) system".

Definitions of sexual offenders also needs to be revamped. An eighteen year old boy who had consensual sex with a fifteen or sixteen year old girl should not be entering prison on the same day a man who raped a 9 year old child may be leaving on parole. While one may not be "moral or ethical" to some, it is not a "violent sexual crime" like the other. The registry fails in that it does not distinguish between the two, nor does it account for those who fail to register, or give any method to prevent the registered offender from re-offending.

Those who commit horrendous sexual crimes against any child, should NEVER leave the confines of a prison to once again walk amongst the children of this country or any other. To those who argue this point I say let us place these animals next door to their home, near their children, in their neighborhood and then we will see if they still think these offenders belong in our society. Would activists for "treatment and parole" only change their mind after their child's body is found buried in the woods?

One child's life should be worth enough to remove the offender permanently from society. To do anything else suggests that one child was not worth more than the "right to life" of the one who tortured them and destroyed their innocence forever. There should never be - repeat offenders.

How many other missing children are living in hell or buried in the woods because we, the adults who are supposed to protect them have allowed those who prey on children to live freely in our society?

Sources:
PrisonTalk
Fox
Wikipedia