A California man convicted of drugging and raping three women has been released from state prison after serving approximately 20 years, igniting outrage over how someone originally sentenced to 124 years could return to the community, as reported [1] by Fox News.
Andrew Luster, the great-grandson of cosmetics mogul Max Factor, was released earlier this month and is reportedly residing in Glendora, California, according to KTLA. Local officials are now demanding information about the release and the safeguards in place for residents.
Glendora Mayor David Fredendall condemned the development in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. He called it unacceptable that a convicted serial rapist is reportedly living in the community.
Serial rapıst Andrew Luster, 60, is set to be released early from prison thanks to his crimes being classified as “non-violent” thanks to Proposition 57, crafted by then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris in 2016.
Are these the policies we want for the whole US? https://t.co/NxTia4vuAw— TaraBull (@TaraBull) September 21, 2024 [2]
“The City of Glendora is beyond disappointed. We are outraged,” Fredendall said.
“Andrew Luster was convicted of 86 felony counts stemming from the drugging and sexual assault of unconscious women. He was originally sentenced to 124 years in prison. He has now been released from State prison and is reportedly residing in our community. This is unacceptable.”
Luster was convicted in 2003 of 86 felony counts connected to the drugging and sexual assault of three women at his beachfront home in Ventura County. Prosecutors said he used GHB to render the women unconscious before sexually assaulting them.
While free on $1 million bail during his trial, Luster fled to Mexico in January 2003. He was convicted in his absence and later captured in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, by celebrity bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman.
Luster initially received a 124-year prison sentence, but a California judge set that sentence aside in March 2013. The judge found that the trial court had failed to adequately explain its reasons for imposing consecutive sentences.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kathryne Ann Stoltz rejected Luster’s attempt to overturn his convictions but granted him a new sentencing hearing. In April 2013, Stoltz resentenced him to 50 years in prison, according to The Associated Press.
Prosecutors opposed the reduced sentence and described Luster’s crimes as “cruel, vicious and callous.” His release has renewed criticism of California’s criminal justice system, particularly Proposition 57, a voter-approved measure passed in 2016 that expanded parole consideration for certain offenders.
KTLA reported that Luster was denied parole in 2022 before receiving parole in 2024. Ventura County prosecutors successfully challenged that decision, and Luster was denied parole again in April 2025.
He was subsequently expected to remain incarcerated until October 2026, when his calculated prison term would end, according to the outlet. Fredendall said the result clashes with assurances given to California voters when Proposition 57 was approved.
“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,” Fredendall said.
“The State may argue that this was not technically an early release. It can point to sentencing credits, legal calculations, and administrative requirements,” the mayor continued.
“However, those technical explanations do not address the larger concern: how an individual originally sentenced to 124 years in prison for heinous crimes is able to walk out of a secured facility after only 20 years.”
California Assemblywoman Blanca E. Rubio also condemned the release in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.
