Index: src/java/org/apache/fop/render/rtf/rtflib/rtfdoc/RtfStringConverter.java
===================================================================
--- src/java/org/apache/fop/render/rtf/rtflib/rtfdoc/RtfStringConverter.java	(revision 1489160)
+++ src/java/org/apache/fop/render/rtf/rtflib/rtfdoc/RtfStringConverter.java	(working copy)
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@
             if (i != 0) {
                 d = new Character(str.charAt(i - 1));
             } else {
-                d = new Character(str.charAt(i));
+                d = new Character(SPACE);
             }
 
             //This section modified by Chris Scott