London, Nov 14 (ANI): Phillip Garrido, dubbed the “American Fritzl”, who held a girl captive for 18 years and fathered two children with her, has semmingly apologised to victim Jaycee Dugard, insisting that his sexual deviancy had been cured by Jesus.

The 58-year-old wrote a letter from jail to a US TV station.

It said: “First off I want to apologise to every human being for what has taken place.”

The letter went on: “People all over the world are hearing testimony that through the spirit of Christ a mental process took place ending a sexual problem believed to be impossible.”

His lawyer Susan Gellman claimed the letter showed “genuine remorse”, reports The Sun.

She said: “He would like people to consider the fact that he’s a changed man.”

Garrido and his wife, Nancy, are charged with abducting Dugard from a South Lake Tahoe bus stop in 1991 when she was just 11 and holding her captive for 18 years in their backyard. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Dugard was reunited with her family on Aug 27 after Garrido’s parole officer raised the alarm.

The agent had summoned Garrido, a registered sex offender, after two University of California Berkeley police employees grew suspicious of him when he showed up at the campus with two girls and asked for a permit to hold a religious event. (ANI)