Jaycee Dugard feels guilt over 'Stockholm Syndrome'

August 28, 4:53 PMLA Legal ExaminerJames Hirsen

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Jaycee Lee Dugard is reacting in a predictable way for someone who has been kept as a prisoner and sex slave for 18 grueling years.

The 29-year-old has told her family she is plagued with guilt because of the bonding that took place with her captor. This phenomenon, common to kidnap victims and hostages is known as "Stockholm syndrome."

Stockholm syndrome occurs when the victim develops a positive attachment with their kidnapper because although the victim must depend on the kidnapper for survival, despite being deprived of freedom, mistreated and abused by that person.

Anyone who spent 18 years of their life in captivity, in a secret compound, doing the bidding of a criminal, is bound to have a struggle to find peace.

The man charged with the despicable acts in this case, Phillip Garrido claimed to be a religious visionary. He wrote in a blog about hearing angels speak and was the head of an entity called "God's Desires."

Jaycee was not allowed to read or watch television. She gave birth to two daughters by Garrido, now aged 15 and 11.

Garrido and his wife Nancy were last formally charged with kidnap. The police searched their home in Antioch, California, looking for evidence of this and other crimes.

Jaycee's stepfather, Carl Probyn, has said his stepdaughter feels guilty for developing a relationship with her suspected abductor and captor.

With the help of her family and a dose of genuine faith, Jaycee will pull through and put the horror of her ordeal behind her. And she will then be able to help with the rehabilitation of her two daughters as well.