Man sentenced to life for raping deaf woman

Man sentenced to life for raping deaf woman | GadsdenTimes.com | Gadsden Times | Gadsden, AL

An Oxford man was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to breaking in and raping a 64-year-old deaf woman, according to a news release from Etowah County District Attorney Jimmie Harp.

Charles William Brandenstein, 37, pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree rape and first-degree burglary before Circuit Judge Clark Hall, who sentenced Brandenstein to life in prison.

Marcus Reid, deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, said the charges stem from an incident that happened in May 2006, when Brandenstein forced his way into the home of the 64-year-old deaf woman and raped her. Brandenstein went into the woman’s home at night, while she was asleep. After Brandenstein raped the woman, he stole jewelry and cash from her home.

Tips from area residents led Gadsden Police Department investigators to Brandenstein.

DNA evidence recovered and analyzed through the efforts of investigators from the Gadsden Police Department and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences was pivotal to the outcome of this case, Reid said.

“This dangerous predator has now been sentenced to life as a result of the courage of the victim and the dedicated efforts of the law enforcement agencies involved in this case,” Harp said.

Harp praised members of the community for assisting in the investigation and said their vigilance and cooperation with law enforcement led to the identification and arrest of Brandenstein.

pek1 said:

A life sentence for rape? How stupid can this justice be and for what purpose does it serve, other than to punish a person instead of rehabilitating him? I can only imagine what the court would do if the man was arrested for drunken driving, unless, of course, the drunk is a friend of the judge's.

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Huh? You can not be serious??

He admitted to it, and the life sentence is not just for the rape. He is also a dangerous predator!!

I do agree on trying to rehabilitating a person. Until he is rehabilitated he needs to stay behind bars. Some predators you can not rehabilitate.

I guess the severity of the punishment depends on the severity of the crime.

If a person commits a crime on another person who is deaf and that deafness hinders that person from defending himself/herself, then that's like "taking advantage" of that person which is worse. Then there's the part where the person is elderly and physically weaker than normal. That is also "taking advantage" of that person. Now, put both together... a deaf elderly woman who cannot hear a criminal approaching her, may not have the ability to cry for help, is too weak to defend herself, and could die due to her frail body. Now, that's pretty severe.

The girl raped me. Should I report to police?
Maybe I shouldn't because I do enjoy it. heh.

pek1 said:

A life sentence for rape? How stupid can this justice be and for what purpose does it serve, other than to punish a person instead of rehabilitating him? I can only imagine what the court would do if the man was arrested for drunken driving, unless, of course, the drunk is a friend of the judge's.

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Let me just say that I know this man very well. I'm his ex wife. For a reason. If you think that this was his first bad decision, you are so mistaken. He got one life sentence for this. Another for armed robbery of his step father which he did while my 17 yo was with him. And in the state that it occurred, 17 is considered an adult even though he was trying to stop it The step father begged for no charges on him, but no nope. Got his son an armed robbery charge, too Oh... And let's not forget the extra time he got for arson. Burning down his second wife's house and escape, because they county was stupid enough to let him out on work release, knowing that he'd escaped them a few years before. Since he's been incarcerated, he's been moved 5 times for fighting.
He was a very good looking and talented man who has 3 grown children and the world at his feet, but he chose drugs. Can he be rehabilitated? Not a chance. I wish. But no. His criminal history goes back to juvenile. He's currently 52.
And did I mention that he raped me after our divorce and long before this poor lady was attacked? I don't know her, but I think of her every day because I know how cruel and viscous he can be.

Mrs.BWS said:

Let me just say that I know this man very well. I'm his ex wife. For a reason. If you think that this was his first bad decision, you are so mistaken. He got one life sentence for this. Another for armed robbery of his step father which he did while my 17 yo was with him. And in the state that it occurred, 17 is considered an adult even though he was trying to stop it The step father begged for no charges on him, but no nope. Got his son an armed robbery charge, too Oh... And let's not forget the extra time he got for arson. Burning down his second wife's house and escape, because they county was stupid enough to let him out on work release, knowing that he'd escaped them a few years before. Since he's been incarcerated, he's been moved 5 times for fighting.
He was a very good looking and talented man who has 3 grown children and the world at his feet, but he chose drugs. Can he be rehabilitated? Not a chance. I wish. But no. His criminal history goes back to juvenile. He's currently 52.
And did I mention that he raped me after our divorce and long before this poor lady was attacked? I don't know her, but I think of her every day because I know how cruel and viscous he can be.

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Did you google his name and his name ended up on here? lol

authentic said:

Did you google his name and his name ended up on here? lol

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Yes but only because his cousin messaged me, asking if he was still in Staton and because she thought he only had one life sentence. I hadn't heard of this page before. I had googled him years ago and it gave more details about the other charges. And in case I didn't mention it, he committed this rape while he was an escapee from Cleburne County Jail.

Mrs.BWS said:

Let me just say that I know this man very well. I'm his ex wife. For a reason. If you think that this was his first bad decision, you are so mistaken. He got one life sentence for this. Another for armed robbery of his step father which he did while my 17 yo was with him. And in the state that it occurred, 17 is considered an adult even though he was trying to stop it The step father begged for no charges on him, but no nope. Got his son an armed robbery charge, too Oh... And let's not forget the extra time he got for arson. Burning down his second wife's house and escape, because they county was stupid enough to let him out on work release, knowing that he'd escaped them a few years before. Since he's been incarcerated, he's been moved 5 times for fighting.
He was a very good looking and talented man who has 3 grown children and the world at his feet, but he chose drugs. Can he be rehabilitated? Not a chance. I wish. But no. His criminal history goes back to juvenile. He's currently 52.
And did I mention that he raped me after our divorce and long before this poor lady was attacked? I don't know her, but I think of her every day because I know how cruel and viscous he can be.

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Brave of you to set the record straight. Thank you for sharing and I hope you and yours are healing as much as you can after such horrific acts. All my best to you.