A decade-old probation report paints an often-odd, dark portrait of 30-year-old John Albert Gardner III, the Lake Elsinore man and registered sex offender charged with the murder of 17-year-old Chelsea King.

The defendant in King’s death told interviewers in 2000 that, growing up, his father was abusive, he had a strained relationship with his mother, that he suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and that he took as many as 18 different medications until he was 16, including Ritalin, Sylert, Zoloft, Paxil, Tegretol, Mellaril, Impripramine and Wellbutrin.

The 2000 probation report was released Tuesday, the same day Gardner appeared in court to set a preliminary hearing date in the King case. Judge David Danielsen set the date for Aug. 4 and issued a gag order in the case.

In 2000, Gardner was convicted and pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old and a count of false imprisonment. According to the probation report, Gardner said he was “absolutely innocent” and took a plea deal because attorneys told him he’d “get reamed” if he went to trial.

Gardner told an interviewer he was bounced around as a child, moving four times before the age of seven. His parents divorced when he was five. According to the report, Gardner said his mom remarried and his stepfather was “an awesome dad.” Later, Gardner claims, though, his father, stepfather and an uncle were all alcoholics.

According to the report, Gardner said he had jobs in construction, worked at a resort as a lifeguard, worked at Santa’s Village in the San Bernardino Mountains, worked at an In-n-Out Burger, and — up until his arrest — was working at a Big 5 Sporting Goods store.

He said he wanted to be a math teacher, but, because of the conviction, he wouldn’t be able to pursue that. Likewise, he said he considered the military or the police force — but that was ruled out too, with the conviction.

According to the report, Gardner reported no habitual drug use, but said he’d tried marijuana in the past. He said he was an occasional drinker.

Gardner also told an interviewer he was engaged, but that his fiancée had an abortion because, the report says, “she was afraid she could not raise a child by herself.” The odd claim was one of many Dr. Matthew F. Carroll noted, the report says. Carroll psychologically evaluated Gardner for the report.

Carroll considered diagnosing Gardner as a pedophile but said Gardner did not warrant a clinical diagnosis.

In the report, Carroll said, “The defendant does not suffer from a psychotic disorder. He is simply a bad guy who is inordinately interested in young girls. He manifests significant predatory traits and is a danger to the community.”

Carroll also noted Gardner showed no signs of a behavioral problem, despite Gardner’s claim he had ADHD. Carroll said, according to Gardner, that Gardner graduated high school with a 3.2 grade point average and had not taken medication since age 16. Carroll’s conclusion was Gardner was “just a bad, bad kid.”

Carroll said the case was “very serious” and recommended the maximum sentence for Gardner. According to the report, Carroll said he did not believe Gardner would benefit from sex offender rehabilitation because, “the fact that the defendant takes no responsibility whatsoever for his actions makes him an extremely poor candidate for any sexual offender treatment.”

Gardner is charged with murder with a special circumstance of rape or attempted rape in the death of King. He pleaded not guilty last week. King went missing Feb. 26. The Poway teen’s body was discovered in a shallow grave on Lake Hodges March 2.

Gardner is also charged with rape or attempted rape in a Dec. 27 attack on a jogger in Rancho Bernardo Community Park, and he is the focus of an investigation in the death of 14-year-old Amber Dubois. Dubois went missing Feb. 13, 2009. Her skeletal remains were found in Pala Saturday.

Read the entire probation report.