An “inhuman” pedophile who was sentenced to 350 years in prison in 2003 for kidnapping and molesting a five-year-old girl could now be released under a controversial California law.

Charles William Mix was 47 when he kidnapped his friend’s daughter and smuggled her across the state line into Utah before subjecting her to his dirty fantasies in June of that year.

His family had assumed he would spend the rest of his life behind bars, but 20 years later, Mix, 69, could be eligible for age-related release under California’s relatively new senior parole program after serving just six percent of his sentence.

The victim, now 27, is not yet ready to talk about the horrors she endured, but her family has written a heartbreaking letter pleading with authorities to keep Mix in prison, while criticizing the parole program as a kind of “light pardon” for serious criminals.

In the letter, they denounce Mix as a “despicable” sex offender who was “old enough to be their grandfather” and quote the damning closing words of the judge who sentenced him to 350 years in prison.

“With this letter, I would like to ask you – no, I beg you – to deny parole to the above-mentioned prisoner who was sentenced 20 years ago to a term of 350 years to life imprisonment for the sexual abuse of a five-year-old girl,” the victim’s family wrote to the commission.

“He was 49 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 heinous enough. But the details of the crime are even worse.”

Mix was found guilty of a number of crimes, including intentional child abuse, kidnapping for the purpose of robbery or rape, lewd acts on a child under 14, burglary and more.

At the time of the kidnapping, he was living with the family in Riverside. On the morning of June 2, 2003, the girl’s father noticed she was missing and called 911.

The next day, Riverside police found Mix and the victim hundreds of miles away in Richfield, Utah, after a passerby noticed them and reported the sighting.

Mix had fled with the child in a stolen car, inside which disturbing heart-shaped scribbles were discovered.

Police also discovered sexually explicit photographs that Mix had taken of the girl, as well as love letters he had written to her.

According to the Los Angeles Times, he later admitted to police in Utah that he had slept naked with the girl.

“The prisoner Mix was not a stranger to the child, but a ‘friend’ to both the child and his father,” the family wrote in the letter to the commissioners about his disgusting betrayal.

“They lived together in the same house, where he exploited the closeness, the family relationship and the trust of a very young child – adding long-term emotional damage to the physical damage.”

In their letter, they further quote the scathing closing remarks of Riverside County Superior Court Judge Christian F. Thierbach, who sentenced Mix to 350 years in prison.

Thierbach told Mix at the time: “Humanity has still not found a punishment that adequately does justice to what you did to that little girl, and I suspect one of the reasons for that is that what you did to her is inhumane.”

The judge further explained that Mix could only be released from prison if he was pardoned.

“I dare say that in this case, civilization as we know it will have ceased to exist,” said Thierbach.

The family’s letter sharply criticizes the Elderly Parole Program and describes it as a “light pardon” that could make this horror a reality.

Under this program, inmates who are 50 years of age or older and have served 20 consecutive years in prison are presented to the Parole Board for hearings.

The victim’s sister, Claira Stansbury, also spoke to KTLA about the traumatic experiences that these left behind for her sister.

“She will have to deal with this for the rest of her life and learn to cope with what happened to her,” she said.

Stansbury added that the prospect of Mix’s release has exacerbated this situation.

“A lot of trauma has been reopened,” she told KTLA. “Things we’ve already overcome, but we have to plunge back into them.”

The Elderly Parole Program is designed to reduce the financial burden of incarcerating older people when officials believe they are unlikely to commit another crime.

The parole board will consider the seriousness of Mix’s crimes, whether he has accepted responsibility or shown remorse for them, and whether he continues to pose a danger to society.

Stansbury said she does not believe Mix can be rehabilitated, adding that the parole program is an insult to the victims and their families.

“The lawmakers all want to talk about how horrible life sentences are for these types of criminals. I don’t think they’re actually addressing the life sentences for the victims who had no choice,” she told KTLA.

“I am absolutely convinced that he would reoffend whether he was looking for my sister or another innocent child.”

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said it stands with victims who must attend parole hearings to keep “dangerous felons” in prison.

“It is appalling that the state continues to subject victims and their families to further trauma and forces them to fight for sentences already imposed by a court,” the office said.

“This practice forces victims to relive their devastating experiences over and over again.”

“We have a team of dedicated lawyers and victim specialists who fight against the early release of dangerous felons.”

“Our office is committed to protecting victims and working to end this practice of early parole.”

The family has asked the public for support for their letter urging the board to block Mix’s parole via email to [email protected].