California prison authorities have released convicted rapist and cosmetics heir Andrew Luster, igniting strong opposition from local leaders after he served roughly 20 years of his original 124-year sentence.
The state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement that Luster, who is the great-grandson of cosmetics founder Max Factor Sr., served his full sentence as required by law following his 2003 rape conviction.
He was initially sentenced to 124 years behind bars, but that was reduced to 50 years in 2013 upon appeal. Corrections officials said Luster’s term included his time spent locked up during trial and while under house arrest.
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California’s public website listing the residences of sex offenders said Luster now resides in Glendora in Los Angeles County. Mayor David Fredendall said the city is “beyond disappointed. We are outraged.”
“When California voters approved Proposition 57 in 2016, they were assured by Governor Jerry Brown and his administration that dangerous offenders would remain behind bars. His campaign went so far as to promise that sex offenders would be ‘absolutely ineligible for parole under Prop 57,’” Mr. Fredendall wrote.
“Those were not casual assurances. They were promises made to the people of California to secure their votes, yet here we are,” the mayor added.
The Proposition 57 ballot measure granted parole privileges for nonviolent felons and broadened good behavior and rehabilitation credits for those in state prison.
Despite how graphic his crimes were, prosecutors said that Luster, 62, was technically convicted of nonviolent offenses.
Court testimony revealed that Luster drugged women using gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, and then raped, sodomized and orally copulated the victims. Prosecutors showed videos recorded by Luster during the trial in which he was seen abusing three women.
He fled to Mexico during his 2002 trial, but was convicted in absentia. Luster was tracked down in Puerto Vallarta by TV bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman a year later.
A corrections department board granted Luster’s early release two years ago, overruling objections from the three victims and the Ventura County District Attorney’s office, the Los Angeles Times reported.
California law did not treat drugging and raping a victim as a violent offense until 2024.
Assemblywoman Blanca E. Rubio, who represents Glendora and other communities in the state legislature, said that Luster being let out on parole earlier this month was “disgusting and unacceptable.”
“I am working closely with local officials and law enforcement to stay informed about the circumstances of Luster’s release, the conditions of his parole and the measures being taken to protect the residents of Glendora and surrounding communities,” she said.
Luster is still under parole supervision as part of his release.
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