California Agents Missed Their Chance To Send Gardner Back To Jail

An independent review has found that state parole agents missed numerous chances to send a convicted child molester back to prison before he raped and killed two teenagers.

The report issued Wednesday by the inspector general for the state corrections department examines how agents handled the case of John Gardner.

It concluded that they did not review the data being gathered by Gardner’s GPS ankle bracelet. That showed a number of violations by Gardner, including getting within 100 yards of places where children gather and visiting a parking lot at a San Diego prison.

The agent said she followed department policy in not monitoring Gardner’s movements because he was considered a less-dangerous offender.

Gardner was freed from parole in 2008. He has since pleaded guilty to killing the teens.