The family had been kept in a hidden compound of backyard tents and sheds, never attending school or receiving medical attention.
Phillip Garrido, 60, faces a maximum sentence of 431 years in prison after entering guilty pleas to 14 kidnapping and sexual assault charges.
His wife, Nancy Garrido, 55, who originally faced the same charges as her husband, pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping and one count of rape.
She faces a maximum sentence of 36 years to life. She is technically eligible for parole, but El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson said it was “extraordinarily unlikely’’ she would ever be released from prison.
Pierson said the plea deal was only possible because Dugard, now 30, was willing to testify about her experiences in captivity.
He said he spoke with her on Wednesday night, and she remained willing to take the witness stand but was reluctant to put her children, now 13 and 16, through the ordeal.
Both defendants waived their right to appeal and were scheduled to be sentenced on June 2.
The guilty pleas came at a hastily arranged court hearing after both defendants pleaded not guilty earlier this month.
Attorney Stephen Tapson, who represents Nancy Garrido, said outside court yesterday that both defendants agreed to change their pleas Wednesday.
The move came after prosecutors said they would drop some charges against Nancy Garrido if Phillip Garrido pleaded guilty to almost the full indictment, Tapson said.
Dugard was snatched from her family’s South Lake Tahoe street in June 1991 while walking to a school bus stop. The case attracted international attention after Dugard surfaced in August 2009.
They were discovered in August 2009 when authorities said that Phillip Garrido took them to a meeting with his parole officer.
