Child Molester Who Stabbed Girl Sentenced For Attack On Wife In OC, DA Says

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A convicted third-striker was sentenced to prison again for attacking his wife in Orange County, the Orange County District Attorney said.

La Palma resident Gary Blane Bentley, 65, was convicted on Sept. 18 of two felony counts of corporal battery on a spouse resulting in a traumatic condition.

He was sentenced to 25 years to life for the 2022 incident, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.

According to Spitzer, Bentley punched his wife of two years in the face before dragging her back into the bedroom of their La Palma apartment before she broke free on June 24, 2022.

"The attack left the couple's apartment covered in blood as the nearly nude victim ran from her attacker outside to try to get help," Spitzer said in a statement. "The attack culminated years of unreported domestic violence against the victim."

The conviction comes after Bentley was convicted of two prior "super strikes," including a 1982 conviction in Los Angeles County for the attempted murder of his then-girlfriend and the maiming of her 5-year-old daughter, leaving the girl permanently blind in one eye.

He served 11 years in state prison for those crimes, Spitzer said.

"Gary Bentley and the reign of terror he has inflicted on women and children throughout his entire life is exactly why California's Three Strikes Law exists," Spitzer said in a statement. "There are certain individuals who have inflicted so much pain and violence on other human beings that they cannot continue to live among civilized society."