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Convicted Sex Offender John Gardner Gets Life in Prison

By Kamika Dunlap on May 19, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

John Gardner, a convicted child molester, was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of Amber Dubois and Chelsea King.

Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, John Gardner was spared the death penalty, but denied the possibility of parole, the Los Angeles Times reports.

As previously discussed John Gardner, a 30-year-old registered sex offender, pleaded not guilty to murdering Chelsea King. He was sentenced to life in prison.

He also pleaded guilty in a case involving the body of another San Diego teenager, Amber Dubois, 14, who disappeared a year ago.

The two murders have pushed many people to their tipping point over how the legal system manages California sex offenders.

Some have even started a Facebook page campaign "Support One Strike Law for Sex Offenders," which has attracted about 6,500 people so far, as previously discussed.

In 2000, Gardner pleaded guilty to committing a lewd act on a child. The victim was 13 at the time. He served five years of a six-year prison sentence for beating and molesting the young girl.

Law enforcement officials are currently investigating Gardner as a suspect in assaults against women and teenage girls in San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The parents of Chelsea King have been fighting for changes in sex offender laws, which would put child molesters in prison for life after a first offense.

In addition, the father of slain teenager Amber Dubois is working with lawmakers to develop a full package of laws to help law enforcement respond quickly to find missing children. The legislation will be unveiled on May 25, National Missing Children's Day.

Amber's father, Moe Dubois, is now pushing for child sex predators to carry driver's licenses identifying them as such.

Some other states already have similar programs in place.

For example, in Delaware, the letter "Y" is included on a driver's license as a signal to officers that they are dealing with a convicted sex offender.

In Louisiana, it's "SEX OFFENDER," written in capital orange letters, as previously discussed. State law enforcement officials have said the label on the driver's license helps to provide invaluable information.

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