Charlotte serial rapist sentenced to life after victims 'bravely' testify

A Charlotte man who prosecutors identified as a serial rapist was sentenced to life in prison this week after three victims recounted their decades-old attacks.

LJ Bertha, now 64, was convicted Monday in Mecklenburg County Superior Court of first-degree rape, second-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping, attempted second-degree sexual offense and common theft.

The jury found Bertha not guilty of one count of first-degree rape and attempted first-degree sexual offense, prosecutors said.

“Three courageous survivors courageously came forward and their testimonies … helped prosecutors secure justice and protect the community,” according to a statement released Tuesday by the Mecklenburg County Prosecutor's Office.

That included testimony from a victim, who said Bertha kicked the driver's side window while parked at a shopping center near Freedom Drive in 1993, according to a news release issued Tuesday by the Mecklenburg County Prosecutor's Office. The attacker made her move, turned into a dead end and raped her, prosecutors said.

Judge Peter Knight sentenced Bertha under the laws in force at the time, including life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years for first degree rape. Bertha was sentenced to an additional 33 years in prison for the other convictions.

DNA linked to suspect, police say

Shortly after the 1993 rape, police arrested Bertha after driving the victim back to the mall parking lot and she called for help, prosecutors said.

“Serological tests were conducted at the time to confirm the presence of semen, but DNA testing conducted in 2023 confirmed Bertha as a suspect,” prosecutors said in the press release.

On July 30, 1994, another of Bertha's victims was walking on Beatties Ford Road when he approached her and forced her onto a dead-end road, prosecutors said. He raped the victim while armed with a box cutter, according to the prosecutor's office.

“The victim fled and ran to a nearby convenience store, where the clerk called the police,” prosecutors said in the release.

DNA tests carried out in 2023 also identified Bertha as a suspect.

Rape near present-day BofA Stadium

The third victim who testified against Bertha was raped in November 1996, according to court records.

Bertha was convicted of the crime in 1997 and served 20 years in prison, police said.

Police also charged Bertha with the 1995 rape of a 16-year-old girl near what is now Bank of America Stadium in downtown Charlotte, the Charlotte Observer reported in 2019, when newly tested DNA evidence was revealed. linked Bertha to the assault.

The teen was raped and robbed as she walked to a payphone on nearby Dunbar Street to call her mother, according to a 2019 police news release.

The home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers was still months away from opening when police say a stranger approached the victim and offered to show him the payphone, police said.

The status of that case was not available Tuesday.