SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- A pretty high school sophomore whose face was burned away with caustic chemical was in very critical condition Thursday, and a convicted rapist was booked in her kidnapping, attempted rape and maiming.
'She has almost no face,' the Sheriffs Department's Jim Bryant said.
'It was burned away. I cringe every time I say it. She is severely disabled.'
Cheryl Bess, 15, was found wandering in the desert where her assailant had apparently abandoned her to die after trying to rape her and pouring a caustic chemical over her face, neck and upper body.
A California Aqueduct worker found Bess in a remote desert area south of Victorville more than seven hours after she was abducted Wednesday morning while on her way to San Bernardino High School.
Bess, a drill team member described as pretty and a good student, was forced into a van about 6:30 a.m. Investigators said the girl was taken to the desert area by a man who attempted to rape her, but failed for an unknown reason.
Bryant said sheriff's deputies and police saturated the area and about five hours later stopped a man in a white van. The suspect was identified as Jack King, 65, of San Bernardino.
State Department of Corrections records show King served 16 years in state prison on an Orange County conviction for kidnapping, rape and lewd conduct. He was released Dec. 12, 1977, and was employed as a maintenance man.
King was booked on suspicion of kidnapping, attempted murder, assault with a caustic chemical, assault with intent to commit rape and mayhem and was held without bail in the county jail.
Investigators were trying to determine what chemical was used in the attack.
