Man Who Set Son Afire Flees Parole Officer

Charles Rothenberg, who set his son afire at a Buena Park motel nine years ago, fled his round-the-clock parole officer for four hours in the San Francisco area before surrendering Thursday night.

State Department of Corrections officials said Bay Area law enforcement agencies were notified that Rothenberg was at large and a search was started before he arranged to turn himself in at 8:18 p.m. at an undisclosed location.

It was the second time Rothenberg escaped from what corrections officials said was very tight supervision by parole agents who follow him 24 hours a day. He had fled in September, 1990. After being caught he was returned to prison for eight months for violating the terms of his parole.

Corrections officials said Rothenberg, 51, violated his parole by fleeing the second time, but no decision had been made on whether to charge him with another parole violation.

Rothenberg, who telephoned The Times while at large, said he fled Thursday because he feared that his parole agent was setting him up for a shoplifting accusation--which could return him to prison.

During five telephone calls to The Times, a reporter urged him to call the Department of Corrections, and Rothenberg agreed. After talking to department officials by phone, Rothenberg arranged to meet them.

“I don’t want to be on the run,” Rothenberg said during one of the calls.

Rothenberg was convicted of attempted murder and arson in 1983 and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. He was paroled in 1990 but placed under what corrections officials called “the tightest restrictions ever.”

The March 3, 1983, attempted murder of his son David, then 6, at a Buena Park motel made national news and was the subject of a television movie. David was left disfigured by third-degree burns that covered 90% of his body.

At the time, Rothenberg said he was trying to hurt the boy’s mother, who had divorced him.

Rothenberg said he escaped from his parole officer about 4 p.m. because “I was being set up and I panicked and I bolted.”

According to Rothenberg and Department of Corrections officials, he fled after shopping at a discount department store.

Rothenberg said he had purchased two small plaques, for $2.97 each, one showing dogs and one showing cats. He said that when he got out of the store, the parole officer accused him of not paying for the items.

Department of Corrections spokesman Tipton Kindel said in a telephone interview from Sacramento that Rothenberg had fled after the parole officer patted his clothes and a concealed plaque fell to the floor. But Rothenberg said he had a sales receipt for both plaques.

David, now a 15-year-old high school sophomore living in Orange County, has legally changed his name to David Jordan Robinson, dropping his father’s name and adding those of his two professional basketball heroes.

David’s stepfather, Buena Park Police Lt. Richard Hafdahl, said that the family had not heard from Rothenberg. He said corrections officials alerted the family about 5 p.m. Thursday that Rothenberg was on the loose.