A convicted pedophile who kidnapped and sexually assaulted his friend’s 5-year-old daughter may be freed from a 350-year prison sentence under a recent change in California law.
Charles William Mix was 47 when he committed the horrific crime in 2003, smuggling the girl in a stolen vehicle hundreds of miles from his family home in Riverside, California, to Utah before committing his brutal act.
The mix is living He said he was close to the girl, her father and her sister and was very close with his family at the time. Los Angeles Times.
He was arrested less than 12 hours later after a passerby reported seeing him, but by that point he had already sexually abused the victim and taken explicit photographs.
“She resisted, but I persisted,” he told Riverside police about removing the victim’s clothes. “She wasn’t used to it.”
Mix was convicted of numerous felonies, including intentional child abuse, kidnapping with intent to rob and commit rape, lewd acts with a child under 14, and theft.
While the victim’s family knew that her abuser would spend the rest of his life in prison, Mix could be paroled as part of California’s Elder Parole Program. Changed 2021 The eligibility age will be lowered to 50.
Inmates must also have served at least 20 consecutive years in prison to be eligible, and Mix currently meets both requirements.
The victim, now 27, has not spoken out about the horrific trauma she suffered at the hands of Mix, but her family are pleading with authorities to keep the paedophile behind bars.
“I am writing to request, no, to plead, that you deny parole to the above convict who was sentenced to 350 years to life imprisonment for sexually abusing a five-year-old girl twenty years ago,” the woman’s relatives wrote in the letter. letter To the Parole Board.
The grieving family continued that Mix was “old enough to be her grandfather and to understand exactly what he was doing.”
“Not only did he rob her of her innocence and the sanctity of her home (where every child should feel safe), but he actually sought to rob her of her family,” the letter continued. “In countless love letters, he professed his romantic ‘love’ for her and claimed that his feelings were reciprocated by their five-year-old child.”
As Riverside County Superior Court Judge Christian F. Thierbach presided over Mix’s trial, he told Mix, “Humanity has not yet invented a punishment that is appropriate for what you did to this little girl, and I believe one of the reasons for that is because what you did to her was inhuman.”
Thierbach added: “I am certain that if this were to happen, civilization as we know it would be wiped out.”
The victim’s family wrote that they completely agree with that assessment.
The victim’s sister, Claire Stansberry, said She told KTLA last week that she is still affected by Mix’s horrific crimes.
“She’s going to have to live with this for the rest of her life, she’s going to have to learn how to deal with what happened to her for the rest of her life,” she said, explaining that the prospect of Mix’s release has “resurfaced a lot of trauma.”
“Lawmakers all want to talk about how terrible a life sentence is for this criminal, this type of criminal, but I don’t think they think about the life sentence for the victims who actually had no choice,” Stansbury continued. “Whether he goes looking for my sister or another innocent child, I’m sure he’ll commit another crime.”
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office released a statement to the media offering support to the victim.
Our firm stands firmly on the side of victims who must attend parole hearings to keep dangerous felons in prison. It is terrible that the state continues to further traumatize victims and their families, forcing them to fight for sentences the courts have already handed down. This practice forces victims to relive a harrowing experience. Our firm has a team of dedicated attorneys and victim experts who oppose the early release of dangerous felons. Our firm is committed to protecting victims and ending the practice of early parole.
Families of Mix’s victims are also calling on the public to write to the Parole Board on their behalf in an effort to thwart any hope of his abductor’s release.
