"He did not expect that his words would actually be transmitted to Mr. Iverson or his family, to whom Mr. Charles intended no harm. . . . He deeply regrets any alarm his words may have caused," said the statement released by the lawyer, Samuel M. Mecum.

Charles, 54, a retired mathematics teacher from Leola, Pa., was charged Tuesday with one count of transmitting interstate threatening communications. The charge resulted from an e-mail sent to WIP-AM (610) radio employee Rhea Hughes.

According to several people who saw the e-mail, the writer threatened to mutilate Iverson's children, 5-year-old daughter Tiaura and 2-year-old son Allen 2d, and cause suffering for the "rest of Iverson's life."

Reached by telephone at his home yesterday, Charles referred questions about the case to his lawyer, saying only, "Things could be better. Let's put it that way."

The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Michael Stiles, declined to comment on Charles' statement yesterday and said his office would proceed with the case.

Charles is expected to be arraigned in the next week before U.S. District Judge Franklin S. Van Antwerpen in Easton, Pa. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Responding to the statement, Iverson's attorney, Larry Woodward, said, "I'm certain he's sorry he said it. He's being charged with a felony."

Woodward added, "What he wrote in that threat indicated that he had malicious intent."

Woodward declined to speculate on the prospect of bringing civil charges against Charles. "We're going to wait for the criminal process to play itself out," he said, "and then we'll make a decision at that time."

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court, the e-mail originated from Charles' home computer in Leola about 9:30 p.m. on May 16, was routed through a server in Atlanta, and was delivered to the computer of WIP Morning Show commentator Hughes.

Upon receipt of the message, Hughes alerted the Sixers, who then notified the FBI, local police and security at the First Union Center.

In addition to threatening Iverson and his family, the message criticized Iverson's cornrow hairdo and called him illiterate, and questioned his academic performance at Georgetown University and whether he had legitimately gotten an adequate score on the Scholastic Assessment Test.

The message arrived the day after the Sixers had pulled within one playoff victory of tying the Indiana Pacers after being down by 3-0. Three days after the threat was issued, the Sixers lost and were eliminated from the playoffs, with Iverson shooting 7 for 20 from the floor and scoring 18 points.

Sixers president Pat Croce was attending the funeral of Cory Erving, the son of former all-star Julius Erving, and was unavailable for comment yesterday.

On Tuesday, Croce said, "I hope he's found guilty. It was a horrible, awful, threatening letter."

In the statement, Charles' lawyer expressed confusion over the nature of the federal charges, saying, "It is a mystery to us how an e-mail sent from Lancaster to Philadelphia could have crossed state lines and been transmitted through Atlanta. Nonetheless, Mr. Charles has immediately accepted responsibility for his actions."