Alleged sex offender held on $10M bail

WOODLAND — A previously convicted sex offender accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl last week denied guilt Tuesday at his Yolo Superior Court arraignment.

Jason Stephen Sigur of Dunnigan also saw his bail increased tenfold to $10 million at the request of Yolo County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Garrett Hamilton, who cited the severity of the charges in the case.

Sigur is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault on a child, seven counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14, and one count each of kidnapping a child under 14 and failure to register his change of address with authorities. The charges carry enhancements for being a habitual offender.

The 35-year-old man was arrested Friday by Yolo County sheriff’s deputies, who found the teenage girl at Sigur’s home on County Road 99W, sheriff’s Sgt. Dale Johnson said. She had been reported missing earlier that day by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department.

The girl, who apparently had had previous contact with Sigur via an Internet chatroom, said she was kidnapped from her El Dorado Hills home earlier Friday and sexually assaulted, according to Johnson.

At his court hearing Tuesday, Sigur said he did not have the resources to hire his own attorney and requested the services of the Yolo County Public Defender’s Office, which entered the not-guilty plea on his behalf. Visiting Judge Doris Shockley scheduled a preliminary hearing for Nov. 2.

Also in court Tuesday were members of the Woodland chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse, an organization that advocates for abused youngsters.

Members said they were motivated to come to the hearing after television news accounts of Sigur’s arrest showed a bumper sticker with the organization’s logo on Sigur’s truck.

Sigur is not affiliated with BACA, said the chapter’s president, who goes by the name Radar.

“We’re here to empower the children that can’t speak for themselves,” he said.

Court records show Sigur has faced similar charges in Yolo County before. In 1995, when he was about 20, he was arrested on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under age 14.