Rothenberg Found Not Guilty in Oakland Shooting

A man who set fire to his son 13 years ago in a Buena Park motel room was acquitted Wednesday of shooting a man in the head.

Charles Rothenberg faced up to 37 years in prison had he been convicted of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.

During the trial, Rothenberg was referred to by his new name, Charles Bocca. Jurors didn’t know he was the same man who burned then-6-year-old David Rothenberg in 1983 during a custody dispute with his ex-wife, said his attorney, Al Hymer.

Rothenberg was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 13 years in prison for pouring kerosene around David’s bed and setting a fire that disfigured him. Authorities said he tried to kill his son because he feared that his wife would never let him see the boy again.

Rothenberg served less than seven years of that sentence and settled in Oakland in 1990. He was arrested in January and charged with the attempted murder of a 47-year-old man and the gun charge.

David Rothenberg, who now works as a music video director in Los Angeles, met privately with his then-jailed father in June for the first time since he was burned.

David Rothenberg, 19, told a television interviewer last month that he had wanted to meet his father so he could get on with his life.