Jaycee Lee Dugard

Reporting from San Francisco -- There are graphic details of her years as a sex slave, descriptions so unsettling that a judge has refused to make much of Jaycee Lee Dugard's grand jury testimony public. There are chapters dedicated to her life today — a mix of intensive therapy and simple pleasures, of healing from 18 years as a captive and seeing her teenage daughters blossom, finally, in freedom. But while Dugard's memoir "A Stolen Life" chronicles her growth from victim to survivor, from terror to strength, it also is an indictment of the parole system and a meditation on loneliness.

Reporting from San Francisco -- Jaycee Lee Dugard sued the U.S. government Thursday, alleging that slipshod federal supervision of convicted rapist Phillip Garrido allowed him to remain free, snatch Dugard while she walked to a school bus stop and hold her captive for 18 years. So lacking was the government's oversight, according to the complaint, that its "gross neglect borders on virtual complicity" with Garrido, who pleaded guilty in April to charges that he kidnapped and raped Dugard.

The family of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was kidnaped by a paroled rapist and subsequently gave birth to his two daughters, will receive a $20-million settlement from California under an agreement approved by lawmakers Thursday. Dugard, now 30, was abducted from her South Lake Tahoe neighborhood on the way to school in 1991 and was missing until last August. That's when she was discovered living in a ramshackle Bay Area compound owned by Phillip Garrido — the man charged with her kidnap and rape — in a bizarre case that attracted international attention.

Reporting from Sacramento -- El Dorado County Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson, who prosecuted the man convicted of abducting Jaycee Lee Dugard and holding her for nearly two decades, on Tuesday blasted the criminal justice system that let onetime parolee Phillip Garrido previously go free. In a report issued the day before state Sen. Ted Gaines (R- Roseville) has scheduled a "community discussion" here to focus on tightening parole requirements, Pierson cited the fact that parole agents over the years had made about 60 visits to Garrido's home and failed to discover Dugard, who was kept hidden in the backyard.

Romney's dilemma Re "Health reform double-edged for Romney," May 12, and "Romney confronts healthcare dilemma," May 13 The fact that Mitt Romney feels the need to disown his highly successful and vastly popular healthcare plan in Massachusetts speaks volumes about the GOP and its priorities. That such an innovative plan should require a negative spin is simply indefensible. I had hoped that the former Massachusetts governor would be justifiably proud of his plan and take credit for inspiring President Obama's healthcare plan instead of pandering to the dogmatism that seems to be required of Republican candidates.

An El Dorado County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that the man charged with kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991 and holding her captive for 18 years is competent to stand trial. Phillip Garrido, who was also charged with rape, fathered Dugard's two children while she was in captivity. His wife, Nancy Garrido, also faces charges in the case, which captured international attention when Dugard and her daughters were discovered in 2009 living in a ramshackle compound in the Garridos' Antioch backyard.

Phillip and Nancy Garrido have confessed to authorities that they kidnapped Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991 and held her captive for 18 years in a ramshackle compound in Northern California, where she gave birth to two daughters after being repeatedly raped, a defense attorney said Monday. Stephen Tapson, Nancy's court-appointed attorney, told reporters outside El Dorado County Superior Court that the couple confessed to the crimes, which made international headlines when Dugard was discovered nearly two years ago, because Phillip, 59, is hoping that his wife's sentence will be reduced.

Accused kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido is expected to plead guilty to snatching an 11-year-old schoolgirl from her South Lake Tahoe area street, holding her captive for nearly two decades and fathering her two daughters, according to an attorney involved in the case. Garrido and his wife, Nancy, face 29 charges of kidnapping and sexual assault in the 1991 abduction of Jaycee Lee Dugard, now 30. Nancy Garrido has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and her husband is to be arraigned Thursday in Placerville, Calif.

Phillip Garrido, accused of kidnapping and raping Jaycee Lee Dugard, is a "master manipulator" who wants to "control" his victims, El Dorado County Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson said Friday. Pierson made the written statement in response to three letters that Garrido sent from jail to Sacramento television station KCRA. In the most recent letter, Garrido said he wanted to "apologize to every human being for what has taken place." He wrote that Christ had helped cure him of a sexual problem.

Terry Probyn shook her head in awe and appreciation as she marched with about 400 parents and children beside the gentle shore of Lake Tahoe in support of her missing daughter. Carrying lighted white candles and wearing pink ribbons, they proceeded solemnly up the main street of this resort town to deliver a simple message: Even in these violent times, when acts such as kidnaping seem commonplace, one little girl's abduction won't be forgotten.

Reporting from San Francisco -- There are graphic details of her years as a sex slave, descriptions so unsettling that a judge has refused to make much of Jaycee Lee Dugard's grand jury testimony public. There are chapters dedicated to her life today — a mix of intensive therapy and simple pleasures, of healing from 18 years as a captive and seeing her teenage daughters blossom, finally, in freedom. But while Dugard's memoir "A Stolen Life" chronicles her growth from victim to survivor, from terror to strength, it also is an indictment of the parole system and a meditation on loneliness.

"A Stolen Life," Jaycee Lee Dugard's memoir of 18 years in captivity, landed on electronic bookshelves shortly after midnight Tuesday. On its cover is a photograph of a smiling, toothy little 11-year-old, tongue out, blond hair tumbling down her shoulders -- Jaycee, free, before she was kidnapped by Phillip and Nancy Garrido and held as a sex slave in a ramshackle compound in their Antioch backyard. There's also a pine cone -- the last thing Dugard remembers touching before she was dragged into the Garridos' car as she headed to the school bus in 1991.

Reporting from Placerville, Calif. -- At times, the voice is young and terrified — an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped during the last week of school, raped for years and kept in line under threat of pain. At times, the voice is brave and resilient — a mother protecting her vulnerable daughters, struggling to give them a normal life under the most horrific of circumstances. And at times, it is angry and defiant — a survivor facing down her abusers and prevailing. Always, though, the voice is Jaycee Lee Dugard's.

Reporting from Placerville, Calif. -- Twenty years after Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted while walking to her school bus stop, the couple who kidnapped and raped her and stole her childhood were sentenced Thursday to prison terms that could keep them behind bars for the rest of their lives. Phillip Garrido, a 60-year-old serial predator, was sentenced to 431 years to life in prison. His 55-year-old wife, Nancy, was sentenced to 36 years to life and cannot be paroled until she is in her 70s. As he imposed the lengthy prison term, Eldorado County Superior Court Judge Douglas C. Phimister said Garrido "lacks a soul" and called his actions "beyond horrible.

Romney's dilemma Re "Health reform double-edged for Romney," May 12, and "Romney confronts healthcare dilemma," May 13 The fact that Mitt Romney feels the need to disown his highly successful and vastly popular healthcare plan in Massachusetts speaks volumes about the GOP and its priorities. That such an innovative plan should require a negative spin is simply indefensible. I had hoped that the former Massachusetts governor would be justifiably proud of his plan and take credit for inspiring President Obama's healthcare plan instead of pandering to the dogmatism that seems to be required of Republican candidates.

Readers almost certainly will be fascinated by Jaycee Lee Dugard's account of her 18 years in captivity when her memoir is released this summer. No doubt her publisher will reap a bounty of sales. The question is what Dugard will get out of it. Now in her early 30s, she doesn't need the money. The Legislature approved a $20-million settlement for her and her family, in recognition of a parole officer's failure to properly check on her kidnapper, Phillip Garrido, a previously registered sex offender.

Another court delay Thursday dashed speculation of possible guilty pleas from Phillip and Nancy Garrido, the couple accused of kidnapping and sexually tormenting Jaycee Lee Dugard and holding her captive for 18 years in their backyard compound in Northern California. After a hearing in El Dorado County Superior Court, Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson criticized comments made by Nancy Garrido's defense attorney a few weeks ago, when he called for compassion for his client because Garrido was "like her mother" when Jaycee's children, fathered by Phillip Garrido, were born.

Reporting from San Francisco -- Jaycee Lee Dugard sued the U.S. government Thursday, alleging that slipshod federal supervision of convicted rapist Phillip Garrido allowed him to remain free, snatch Dugard while she walked to a school bus stop and hold her captive for 18 years. So lacking was the government's oversight, according to the complaint, that its "gross neglect borders on virtual complicity" with Garrido, who pleaded guilty in April to charges that he kidnapped and raped Dugard.

Accused kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido is expected to plead guilty to snatching an 11-year-old schoolgirl from her South Lake Tahoe area street, holding her captive for nearly two decades and fathering her two daughters, according to an attorney involved in the case. Garrido and his wife, Nancy, face 29 charges of kidnapping and sexual assault in the 1991 abduction of Jaycee Lee Dugard, now 30. Nancy Garrido has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and her husband is to be arraigned Thursday in Placerville, Calif.

Another court delay Thursday dashed speculation of possible guilty pleas from Phillip and Nancy Garrido, the couple accused of kidnapping and sexually tormenting Jaycee Lee Dugard and holding her captive for 18 years in their backyard compound in Northern California. After a hearing in El Dorado County Superior Court, Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson criticized comments made by Nancy Garrido's defense attorney a few weeks ago, when he called for compassion for his client because Garrido was "like her mother" when Jaycee's children, fathered by Phillip Garrido, were born.