Man Given 34 Years in Acid Attack, Maiming of Girl, 16

A maintenance man convicted of trying to rape and kill 16-year-old Cheryl Bess and then blinding and disfiguring her by pouring sulfuric acid on her face was sentenced Wednesday to a maximum 34-year prison term.

Superior Court Judge Don A. Turner said he hoped Jack Oscar King, 65, whom he described as “cruel, vicious and callous,” would remain in prison the rest of his life.

“It is the intention of this court to keep Mr. King in custody for as long as possible. This should get the job done,” Turner said.

On Aug. 14, an eight-woman, four-man jury deliberated only two hours before finding King guilty of all eight felony counts stemming from the attack last year that left Cheryl, a former San Bernardino High School honor student who now lives in Orange, virtually without a face.

‘I’m Satisfied’

King, who was also ordered to pay a $9,000 fine, will not be eligible for parole for at least 17 years, said San Bernardino County Deputy Dist. Atty. Dwight Moore, who prosecuted him.

“I’m satisfied that he got absolutely the stiffest sentence possible,” Moore said. “If Mr. King had been a younger man, the sentence would not have been stiff enough. But I don’t expect him to ever leave prison.”

Turner said Cheryl’s mother, Norma Bess, had asked that King be punished in the same manner he hurt her daughter.

“Anyone aware of the case and Cheryl’s feelings can understand the emotions of Cheryl’s mother . . . but society will not lower itself to the level of Jack Oscar King,” Turner said. “He acted totally without any conscience or any feelings for humanity in general. He was cruel, vicious and callous.”

Neither Cheryl nor her mother was in the courtroom Wednesday. However, in a telephone interview, Norma Bess said the sentence had not been harsh enough:

“I just don’t know why they didn’t execute him and be done with it. Big deal! They are going to keep him off the streets.”

The mother also said King, although in prison, will be more comfortable than Cheryl, who still must face years of surgery to rebuild her face.

“It might be over for King, but it’s not over for us. That’s the reality,” Bess said. “Besides, people like King cannot be rehabilitated.

“The term ‘habitual sex offender’ should be stricken from our vocabulary. The first time should be the last time.”

During the two-week trial, Cheryl testified that on Oct. 24, 1984, she accepted a ride from a man she recognized as a maintenance worker at the housing project where she lived. She said he drove her to the Mojave Desert off Interstate 15, where he tried unsuccessfully to rape her and then attempted to choke her because he feared she “would turn him in.”

After emptying a bottle of sulfuric acid on her head, the attacker then left her for dead, but Cheryl managed to crawl away. A passing motorist found her hours later lying beside a dirt road.

Since her attack, Cheryl has undergone numerous operations. Surgeons have also started work on reconstructing her eyelids in the hope of being able to partially restore her eyesight.

“We have doctor appointments three times a week,” Norma Bess said. “Cheryl will have surgery the rest of this year, next year and God knows how many more years. It’s not over for Cheryl.”