Man convicted of two rapes gets 49 years
By ALISHA WYMAN
Register Staff Writer
November 20th, 2009
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An American Canyon man convicted of multiple rapes and other charges will spend nearly a half century in prison.
Napa County Superior Court Judge Stephen Kroyer on Wednesday sentenced Charles David Gordon, 25, to 49 years and 8 months in prison for raping a girl and a young woman.
He must pay $1,500 restitution to one of the victims and $10,000 to a restitution fund. He could be ordered to pay additional restitution should the other victim make a claim.
The sentence comes after a trial ending last month in which Kroyer found him guilty of two counts of forcible rape, two other sex crimes and domestic violence causing injury.
The first victim was a 16-year-old who came to visit Gordon in his apartment in November 2008, asking for alcohol. After she was drunk, he raped her, according to court documents.
The second victim was a former girlfriend of Gordon’s whom he met in Medford, Ore.
He convinced her to move to American Canyon to live with him at his parents’ home. He was violent throughout the relationship, and it culminated with the rape in January 2008, according to court documents. That night, he raped her twice and put out a cigarette on her leg.
Throughout the trial, defense attorney Mervin Lernhart said the sexual encounters were consensual, though Gordon admitted to putting the cigarette out on he woman’s leg.
During an Oct. 28 interview with the Napa County Probation Department, Gordon admitted the couple’s relationship was rough and that he “became a monster” when he drank, according to the probation report. But he denied ever raping her. “I would not be here if I raped her,” he said. “I would have shot myself if I did.”
On Wednesday, Lernhart said certain parts of the probation report do not accurately reflect Gordon’s views, including a statement in which he reportedly said, “It’s hard to feel bad for her when I’m going to prison for the rest of my life. Someday she will wake up and know she lied and I’m in prison...”
Lernhart also asked for the removal of references to allegations of sexual abuse that weren’t part of the charges and instances where the report didn’t match up with trial testimony. They shouldn’t be considered for sentencing or when Gordon goes up for parole, he said.
Kroyer said he wouldn’t factor the additional allegations into Gordon’s sentence, but denied the request to alter the report, saying he didn’t have the authority to do that.
Gordon addressed the court, saying the probation report was a “tabloid” account of what he said and did.
“I do have remorse for the crimes I committed,” he said. “For the crimes I didn’t commit, the punishment overshadows the remorse.”
Kroyer said he didn’t have much flexibility with he sentence because of state sentencing guidelines. However, he said, “I’m not going to lose any sleep over the sentence I’m about to impose.”
Gordon did the crimes in order to dominate, manipulate and hurt his victims, Kroyer said.
“I consider him to be an extreme risk to everybody around him,” he said.
Lernhart declined to comment, as did a relative of Gordon’s.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Gero said Kroyer gave Gordon the sentence Gero asked for.
“It’s a sad case,” Gero said. “There’s no winners, but he got what he deserved.”
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random name here wrote on Nov 5, 2009 8:31 AM:
While I agree that probation officers love to "cut-and-paste" interview comments to portray a negative image, I'm siding with the probation dept on this one. Claiming he didn't rape her, but did put a cigarette out on her leg earns him a spot at the front of the "Needs Therapy" line. "
doscentavos wrote on Nov 5, 2009 9:45 AM:
justnana wrote on Nov 5, 2009 12:21 PM: