Man who burned son in ’83 is sentenced as 3rd-striker

A 66-year-old man who burned his son more than two decades ago to prevent his estranged wife from getting custody was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years to life in prison by a judge who called him the “kind of individual for whom the three strikes law was passed.”

Charley Charles, formerly known as Charles Rothenberg, was re-sentenced in San Francisco Superior Court for possessing a gun after an appeals court said the judge erred in not applying the so-called three-strikes law to a pair of convictions in the fire that severely injured his son.

Judge Cynthia Ming-Mei Lee cited Charles’ lengthy criminal record, which dates to 1958 and includes multiple felony convictions in three states for robbery, forgery and weapon charges.

“There really has been no substantial time period where the defendant has been law-abiding,” Lee said.

In 1983, Charles took his son to a Buena Park motel room and gave the boy a sleeping pill. He then doused the room with kerosene and lighted the fuel before leaving.

The boy survived, and Charles served seven years for attempted murder and arson. The relatively light sentence drew outrage and helped pave the way for stricter sentencing guidelines.

At issue Wednesday was Charles’ 2005 conviction for being a felon in possession of a handgun and ammunition. At the time, Lee gave Charles seven years after ruling the attempted murder and arson from 1983 should count as one strike, not two. The 1st District Court of Appeal overturned that decision in January.

Defense lawyer Gabriel Basson argued the crime should be considered one strike because it involved “a single act and a single victim.” He said Charles could have been charged with endangering the lives of others by setting fire to a motel room, but he wasn’t. The judge said a past felony conviction or strike can be set aside only in “extraordinary circumstances.”

She also disregarded Basson’s argument that the 1983 incident was a “moment of madness” and said the crime “defines who the defendant is.”

Charles also has two pending cases against him. He’s accused of committing fraud and making threats against a prosecutor.