In another case that will focus attention on the monitoring of sex offenders, a California sex offender has been arrested in an apparent San Diego-area murder. San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said it was a “strong likelihood” that a body found yesterday was Chelsea King, 17, who had been missing since Thursday when she went for a jog in a park, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. John Albert Gardner III, 30, a registered sex offender, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of rape and murder.
Gardner has been connected to a Dec. 27 attack on a female jogger in the same park. In 2000, Gardner was convicted of a forcible lewd act on a child and false imprisonment after he took a 13-year-old neighbor girl to his mother’s home. The girl accused him of repeatedly punching her in the face and touching her private parts. A psychiatrist who interviewed him said he would be a “continued danger to underage girls” because of the lack of remorse for his actions. Prosecutors initially charged Gardner with more-violent sex crimes that could have resulted in a sentence of more than 30 years because the terms would have been served consecutively. He was sentenced to six years in prison as part of a plea agreement and served five years before he was released in 2005. He completed probation in 2008.
Posted by Ohnono
Thursday, March 04, 2010 06:30
I feel like live in a Roman Colliseum. Survival of the fittest. Go at your own risk. By lawmakers that want US afraid so that we will approve a military grocery list of new bombs and Billions for our good friends who can do no murder wrong, Israel. Just another day of death, American stylz. This is a bunch of perverts letting these known dangerous people out into the community. Police are some of the few people who actually care about protecting people and communities. Time for a big change if this is the best we can do. Let perverts out of jail while cutting the local sheriff’s budgets. All I can say is, shame on the people at the top. America deserves too much better.
Posted by nles
Wednesday, March 03, 2010 11:05
This is very difficult. Law enforcement does what they can. If they were to do much more, they would be infringing upon the rights of the individual. Radical changes to the justice code and to civil rights would be required BEFORE anything else can be done, and this is all inclusive…Changes would likely affect EVERYONE, not just those on the registry.
Posted by Shoshi
Wednesday, March 03, 2010 09:47
-You rape and there is DNA evidence to link you to the crime you get no trial and you go to jail for a minimum of 30 years with no parole. Then when you’re released you wear a tracking device until you’re dead.
-You rape a child and there is DNA evidence you get no trial and you go to jail for life with no chance of parole, ever!
-You rape and kill, and there is DNA evidence, you die right away!
-No DNA for the first two and you get a trial.
Why do we continue to entertain this BS? If the prosecutors did their job Chelsea would not be dead. The forensic psych on the case recommended 30 years in jail for this freak. That recommendation was ignored. The freak held it together all these years and when he was free of the law, tracking device, parole and all, he did it again. Only this time it was worse. It’s always gets worse with these freaks especially when they’ve been in jail already for the same offense. This type of behavior, this type of control is not a sign of a mentally ill person. These are the actions of a very calculating predator. He waited to strike. It took thought and self control to strike when no one was looking.
Posted by Sharon Zirn
Wednesday, March 03, 2010 07:11
Don"t you mean, “San Diego Case Focuses on ‘lack of’ Attention on Sex Offender Monitoring”? When the justice system fails it results in the killing of innocent people. The problem is accountability.
Posted by Jean
Wednesday, March 03, 2010 06:38
Is this how much we value our children? A convicted BRUTAL sex offender of a 13 year old gets a SUGGESTED 6 year sentence??????
LAW ENFORCEMENT IS WORTHLESS. WORSE, LAW ENFORCEMENT IS A JOKE.
Posted by L
Wednesday, March 03, 2010 06:27
Heck with monitoring…the slightest offense should have them locked up with the key thrown away….no second chances