Convicted pedophile Charles William Mix could be freed because he is old under California law

A depraved pedophile who was sentenced to 350 years in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting his friend's 5-year-old daughter could soon be freed under a woke California law – despite pleas from his victim's family for him to be kept behind bars.

Charles William Mix should have died behind bars for kidnapping his roommate's daughter and smuggling her across Utah state lines in 2003, KABC reported.

“He befriended her father, gained everyone's trust, groomed her, and then he stole a child from her own home,” said the victim's sister, Claira Stansbury, who was just 9 when her younger son was abducted.

Mix could now be released under California's progressive senior parole program, which protects older inmates, even those responsible for such heinous crimes.

Although Mix was 49 at the time of his abuse, he has since turned 69, making him eligible for the crime-fighting program that directs inmates over 50 who have served 20 years of continuous incarceration to the parole board.

The victim, now 27, is still too traumatised to speak about her ordeal, with news of her attacker's possible parole adding further pain to her and her family, her sister said.

“We had moved on,” Stansbury told KABC. “We were healing and now we have to go back to this story to try to continue to keep him in prison.”

The victim's family is pleading with authorities to keep Smit behind bars, saying victims should be the priority, not the well-being of criminals who are fairly punished.

“California lawmakers are questioning whether these criminals are being sentenced to life in prison and whether that’s fair to them,” Stansbury said. “What we really need to talk about is the life sentence for the victims, who had no choice.”

Stansbury's sister was just 5 years old when she was abducted from her home in Riverside, California, on June 2, 2003, triggering an AMBER Alert before being located the next day hundreds of miles away in Richfield, Utah.

Authorities discovered sexually explicit photos of the girl and love letters written by Mix – who later admitted to sleeping naked next to the girl, the outlet reported.

Mix was sentenced to 350 years in prison after being convicted of various charges including willful cruelty to a child, kidnapping for the purpose of committing robbery or rape, and lewd acts with a child under 14.

Stansbury now plans to speak to the Parole Board on behalf of his sister.

“She tried to talk to people about it a few times and she said, 'This is harder than I thought. I'm not ready yet, but please, I need you to do this,'” Stansbury said.

The Riverside County District Attorney's Office, which is also fighting Mix's early release, called the decision “appalling” and urged the state to stop forcing victims and their families to relive their trauma.

“Our office strongly supports victims who must attend parole hearings to keep dangerous criminals in prison,” the prosecutor’s office said.

“We have a dedicated team of attorneys and victim specialists who fight against the early release of dangerous criminals. Our office is committed to protecting victims and ensuring that this practice of early parole is ended.”

Mix's parole board hearing is scheduled for September 25.