Charles William Mix, who was convicted 20 years ago for kidnapping his friend’s daughter and transporting her to Utah, could be released early due to California’s Elderly Parole Program. Mix, now 69, received a 350-year prison sentence for various crimes, including child cruelty, kidnapping with intent to commit robbery or rape, and committing lewd acts with a child under 14.
Despite the seriousness of these charges, Mix could become eligible for parole, having served only a small portion of his sentence because of his age.
The victim, now 27, has chosen to remain silent about her ordeal. However, her family strongly opposes Mix’s possible release, describing him as a “vile” predator and criticizing the Elderly Parole Program as a lenient measure akin to a “pardon lite” for severe offenders.
‘I’m writing to request — no, to implore — that you deny parole for the above referenced inmate, who 20 years ago was sentenced to 350 years-to-life in prison for sexually molesting a 5-year-old girl,’ the victim’s family wrote to 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 vile enough. But the details of the crime are worse.’
‘Inmate Mix was not a stranger to the child, but a “friend” to both the child and her father,’ the family wrote of his disgusting betrayal in the letter to commissioners.
‘They lived together in the same home, where he took advantage of his proximity, family-like relationship, and a very young child’s trust — heaping long-lasting emotional damage atop the physical.’
In June 2003, Mix was living with the victim’s family in Riverside, California. The girl’s father discovered her missing on June 2 and called the police. Mix and the girl were found the next day in Richfield, Utah, after a concerned passerby reported their location.
Mix had abducted the child in a stolen vehicle, which was found with unsettling heart-shaped scribbles inside. Authorities also recovered sexually explicit photos of the girl and love letters Mix had written to her. According to reports, Mix confessed to Utah detectives that he had slept naked with the child.
