Jaycee Dugard and her mother have filed claims against California’s Department of Corrections, seeking unspecified (but exceeding $25,000) financial damages for suffering they endured due to lapses by parole and other officials overseeing Philip Garrido, the man charged with abducting then-11-year-old Dugard and holding her captive for 18 years. Legal observers tell KCBS-AM that the move is a likely precursor to lawsuits.
In another development today in the case, a judge ruled that Garrido and his wife, Nancy, will be allowed two brief phone conversations. Officials had denied the calls, the AP reports, citing a burden on staff; the judge agreed with lawyers’ contentions that the Garridos should be allowed to discuss the case, Dugard, and the two young girls Philip Garrido fathered during her captivity.
(More Jaycee Lee Dugard stories.)