STATE : Rothenberg Released on Parole

Charles David Rothenberg was released from prison this morning, nearly seven years after he burned his son beyond recognition in a twisted plot to hurt the wife who divorced him.

At 12:40 a.m., Rothenberg was driven from an undisclosed California prison under guard by four parole agents, who delivered him to an unnamed parole destination sometime before 9 a.m., officials said.

Dressed in blue jeans and a chambray shirt and toting two boxes of personal belongings, a prison spokesman said Rothenberg’s only remark upon release was, “I’m afraid and upset.” While authorities refuse to identify his whereabouts for fear such a disclosure would result in repeated and costly relocations, they did say Rothenberg will hold a clerical job in private enterprise that will “at least pay for his room and board.”

Tipton C. Kindel, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, said Rothenberg’s living quarters “are essentially some type of an apartment setting.”