Man who tortured 'girl in the box' denied parole

Cristina Mendonsa | KXTV-TV, Sacramento, Calif.

Show Caption Hide Caption Man who tortured, slaved girl for 7 years denied parole Cameron Hooker, a man that a judge once called "the most dangerous psychopath ever encountered" will remain in prison for at least 15 more years, a California prisons spokesman said.



CORCORAN, Calif. — A man that a judge once called "the most dangerous psychopath ever encountered" will remain in prison for at least 15 more years — and probably much longer — a California prisons spokesman said Thursday.

In 1985, Cameron Hooker, now 61, was given a 104-year sentence for kidnapping a young hitchhiker named Colleen Stan and holding her for seven years of torture, rape and terror. But this past summer, as California started working to decrease its prison population, parole standards for elderly inmates quietly started changing.

As part of the state's new Elderly Parole Program, Hooker qualified for a hearing because he is older than 60 and had served at least 25 years. That was seven years sooner than he would have using the old rules, said Luis Patino, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

But the parole board at Corcoran State Prison, where Hooker is incarcerated, denied the parole request and said he won't have another parole hearing for 15 years, the spokesman said.

"Fifteen years, I believe, is the longest period we give anyone," Patino said. "That signifies that the board thought this inmate was far from suitable and has much to work on" before being allowed to walk out of prison.

And in 15 years, the parole board could again deny parole for Hooker, Patino said.

Before Jaycee Dugard, kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., in 1991 and held for 18 years, or Elizabeth Smart, kidnapped in 2002 and held for nine months, the case of Colleen Stan, kidnapped at age 20, made international headlines.

Stan was called "the Girl in the Box" because of the enclosure under Hooker's bed that she was forced into for 23 hours a day during much of her captivity. She was the subject of a best-selling book, Perfect Victim.

"The hearing went really well and I'm really pleased with the results," Stan told KXTV. "He didn't show any remorse. Basically he's wasted his life, 30 years in prison and hasn't done anything to try to improve himself or change himself or figure out why he did this."

Stan's descent into a seven-year nightmare started in May 1977. She was hitchhiking along Interstate 5 near Redding, Calif., and accepted a ride from a young couple traveling with a 7-month-old baby.

"The husband looked dirty, like he just got off work," Stan said. "His young wife was holding their baby. They told me, 'Yeah, we'll give you a ride.' I felt this was a good ride, a safe ride, after evaluating the situation."

Within hours, Stan was suspended by her wrists, naked, in the basement of a Red Bluff, Calif., home, about 30 miles away.

During her seven years under Hooker's control, Stan was repeatedly beaten, raped, burned, suspended and choked to unconsciousness. Her captor built special torture devices, including a stretcher that caused permanent damage to her back and one shoulder.

Stan, now 61, talked about her torture and resulting injuries at a victim's recognition event in Red Bluff last week.

"I'm really happy that Red Bluff reached out to me," Stan said. "It's the first time in 30 years, and I think we both really needed that."

In addition to the physical torture, Stan was forced to sign her life over to Hooker as a sex slave. Hooker had convinced her that a national group of sex slave owners called "the Company" protected members and punished slaves who were defiant, often to the point of death.

She was told her family would be hurt and anyone she reached out to for help would be killed if she did not sign the document.

Stan's case was unprecedented. As a result, Hooker was not charged with many of the crimes faced by Dugard's kidnappers, Phillip and Nancy Garrido. Hooker's wife, Janice, was offered immunity in return for testimony against her husband.

Because Judge Clarence Knight of San Mateo County Superior Court gave Hooker 104 years in prison, Stan thought Hooker would die in prison. Then she received a letter from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in January that said Hooker's parole hearing was Thursday.

"You get to a point and think, 'OK, 30 years have passed. I'm better. I'm healed. I've gotten on with my life,' " Stan said. "Then things like this come up and have a way of pulling you right back to the event."

Stan, now living under another name in an undisclosed area of California, started having nightmares that she was under Hooker's control again and organized a letter writing-campaign to keep him in prison. She also testified at Thursday's hearing.

"I don't know what his health issues are physically or mentally," Stan said. "But I don't think he's a feeble old man that couldn't do this again."

Contributing: Linda Dono, USA TODAY