PLACERVILLE (AP/BCN) – A grand jury has indicted the Antioch couple accused of kidnapping and raping Jaycee Dugard, who was held captive for 18 years, officials said Friday.

Phillip and Nancy Garrido were each indicted on 18 counts plus multiple special allegations in a process that will eliminate the need for a preliminary hearing, where their alleged victim may have had to testify.

The pair has been charged with six counts of forcible rape, seven counts of forcible lewd acts on a child, false imprisonment by violence and possession of child pornography.

According to the indictment, the evidence includes videotapes recorded by Phillip Garrido of forcible lewd acts being performed on the body of Dugard, who is referred to as Jane Doe in court documents. It also includes statements from Phillip Garrido.

Phillip Garrido is also charged with multiple special allegations for having prior convictions for rape and kidnapping.

Phillip and Nancy Garrido are charged together with the special allegations that they allegedly kidnapped Dugard when she was under 14, and that they allegedly committed the sexual offenses by use of force and by threatening Dugard and another unnamed person.

There are also special allegations against the pair because they were strangers to Dugard when they allegedly kidnapped her and that they committed multiple sexual offenses against her.

The couple allegedly kidnapped Dugard from in front of her South Lake Tahoe home on June 10, 1991 when she was 11 years old. They allegedly held her captive for 18 years in the backyard of their home just outside Antioch, where she gave birth to two daughters fathered by Phillip Garrido.

According to the indictment, the first rape allegedly occurred within the first month of her captivity.

Birth certificates for the two daughters, which were obtained after they were discovered in August 2009, show that they were born in August 1994 and November 1997 when Dugard was 14 and 17 years old.

The grand jury indictment circumvents the need for a preliminary hearing in the case, which was scheduled for Oct. 7.

At a preliminary hearing, a judge decides whether there is enough evidence to bring the defendants to trial. When a grand jury is convened, the jury decides whether there is enough evidence for a trial.

Unlike preliminary hearings, grand jury hearings are conducted in closed court and the defendants and their attorneys are not present.

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