Bail for accused kidnapper set at 30 million dollars

Sep 14, 2009, 17:21 GMT

San Francisco - A judge on Monday set bail at 30 million dollars for Phillip Garrido, the convicted sex offender charged with kidnapping an 11-year-old girl, holding her captive for 18 years and fathering two children with her.

El Dorado Superior Court Judge Douglas Phimister said Garrido, 58, posed a danger to the public and was a flight risk, and ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

The judge also imposed a no-bail hold in jail on Garrido's wife Nancy, 54.

The couple are facing 29 charges connected to the 1991 kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard, whom they allegedly held in a backyard hovel for 18 years. They were arrested on August 26 after a university police officer became suspicious. Dugard and her two daughters have been reunited with their family in a secret location.

Police have also found what appears to be a human bone on a property adjacent to Garrido's and are working to link him with a series of unsolved murders in the 1990s.

In the courtroom, the Garridos were mostly quiet. The only words they said were 'Yes, sir' when asked to waive their right to have a trial within 60 days.

After the hearing, prosecutor Vern Pierson pleaded with the media to let the Dugards recover in peace, following reports that talk show host Oprah Winfrey was to interview Jaycee Dugard in December in return for a 1-million-dollar paycheck.

'I've heard comments referring to this family as a piece of property,' Pierson said at a news conference. 'If you look at this family, they have a lot to deal with right now.'

Pierson added that Dugard would likely have to take the stand during a trial, but that a Dugard interview with Winfrey would not necessarily impede prosecutors.