Pedophile sentenced to 350 years for abducting and molesting girl, 5, in 2003 could now be freed by woke California law because he’s elderly

A “subhuman” pedophile who was sentenced to 350 years in prison in 2003 for kidnapping and abusing a five-year-old girl could now be freed under a controversial California law.

Charles William Mix was 47 when he kidnapped his friend’s daughter and smuggled her across the state line into Utah, where he subjected her to his sordid fantasies in June of that year.

Her family thought he would spend the rest of his life behind bars, but 20 years later, Mix, 69, was able to be released under California’s relatively new Elderly Parole Program because of his age, after serving just six percent of his sentence.

The victim, now 27, is unwilling to talk about the horrors she endured, but her family has written a heartbreaking letter pleading with authorities to keep Mix in prison, while criticizing the parole program, which offers criminals a “light grace.”

In the letter, they criticise Mix as a ‘despicable’ rapist who was ‘old enough to be her grandfather’ and quote the damning final remarks of the judge who sentenced him to 350 years in prison.

“I am writing to request, nay, to plead with you, to deny the parole of the above-named prisoner. Twenty years ago he was sentenced to 350 years to life in prison for sexually abusing a five-year-old girl,” the victim’s family wrote to the commissioners.

‘He was 49 years old at the time, old enough to be her grandfather, and certainly old enough to know exactly what he was doing.

“The basic facts stated above are disgusting enough. But the details of the crime are even worse.”

Mix was convicted of several crimes, including child abuse, kidnapping for the purpose of robbery or rape, indecent acts with a child under the age of 14, burglary and more.

He was living with the family in Riverside at the time of the abduction. On the morning of June 2, 2003, the girl’s father realized she was missing and called 911.

The next day, Riverside police found Mix and the victim hundreds of miles away in Richfield, Utah, after a passerby spotted them and reported the sighting.

Mix had fled with the child in a stolen vehicle, the interior of which bore disturbing heart-shaped scribbles.

Police also discovered sexually explicit photographs Mix had taken of the girl, as well as love letters he had written to her.

He later admitted to Utah investigators that he had slept naked with the girl, the Los Angeles Times.

“Prisoner Mix was no stranger to the child, but a ‘friend’ of both the child and her father,” the family wrote of his appalling betrayal in the letter to the commissioners.

‘They lived together in the same home, where he abused the closeness, familial relationship and trust of a very young child, causing him not only physical but also long-term emotional damage.’

Their letter quotes the scathing final remarks of Riverside County Superior Court Judge Christian F. Thierbach, who sentenced Mix to 350 years in prison.

Thierbach told Mix at the time: ‘Humanity still hasn’t come up with a punishment that adequately responds to what you did to this little girl. I suspect one reason for that is that what you did to her was inhumane.’

The judge then explained that Mix could only be released from prison if he was pardoned.

“I dare say that if that happens, civilization as we know it will cease to exist,” Thierbach said.

The family’s letter criticizes the Elderly Parole Program as a “light” pardon that could allow this horror to become a reality.

Under this program, prisoners who are 50 years of age or older and have served 20 consecutive years in prison are brought before the parole board.

The victim’s sister, Claira Stansbury, also spoke with her. KTLA about the scars the experience left on her sibling.

“She’s going to have to deal with this for the rest of her life and she’s going to have to deal with what happened to her for the rest of her life,” she said.

Stansbury added that this was further compounded by the prospect of Mix being released.

“There’s a lot of trauma that’s been rekindled,” she told KTLA. “Things that we’ve healed from, we have to address again.”

The Elderly Parole Program is designed to ease the financial burden of keeping older people in prison when authorities believe they are unlikely to commit new crimes.

The parole board will look at the seriousness of Mix’s crimes, whether he has accepted responsibility or shown remorse for them, and whether he continues to pose a danger to society.

Stansbury said she does not believe Mix can be rehabilitated, adding that the parole program is an insult to the victims and their families.

“The legislators all want to talk about how horrible life sentences are for this criminal, these types of criminals. I don’t think they’re actually looking at life sentences for the victims who had no choice in the matter,” she told KTLA.

“I am absolutely convinced that he will commit another crime, whether it is to find my sister or another innocent child.”

The Riverside County Prosecutor’s Office said it stands with victims who are required to attend parole hearings to keep “dangerous criminals” in prison.

“It is appalling that the state continues to inflict further trauma on victims and their families and forces them to fight for sentences already imposed by a court,” the office said.

This practice forces victims to relive their devastating experiences.

‘We have a team of dedicated advocates and victim specialists fighting against the early release of dangerous criminals.

“Our office is committed to protecting victims and ensuring that the practice of early release is ended.”

The family has appealed for the public’s support for their letter urging the board to block Mix’s parole by sending an email to BPH.CorrespondenceUnit@cdcr.ca.gov.