California's Criminal Parole Officers

There's a play on words in that title.

Authorities missed dozens of parole violations that would have sent registered sex offender John Albert Gardner III back to prison and kept him from raping and murdering two teenage girls in northern San Diego County, according to a report released Wednesday by the inspector general of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Among other violations, Gardner visited the grounds of a state prison in 2008, a felony that could have brought a life sentence as a third strike, the report said.

Also, a review of the data from the GPS device that Gardner was required to wear shows that on 158 occasions in a 13-month period he violated his parole by going near schools, leaving home after curfew or visiting a storage facility.

They're kidding, right?

Wrong.

Among other deficiencies, the report notes that until recently, parole agents were not required to check GPS data to see if parolees were abiding by the rules.

After burial of the last two victims, Californicate changed its procedures.

HT: DigiShirt