A convicted serial rapist in California who was originally sentenced to 124 years in prison has been released after serving approximately 20 years behind bars. Many are outraged that the serial rapist, who also is the great-grandson of legendary cosmetics mogul Max Factor, was released from prison after being convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women.
NBC News reported that 62-year-old Andrew Luster was released from prison on parole on Oct. 11 "after serving his full sentence as required by law," according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
'By drugging his victims into a coma-like state, Andrew Luster played Russian roulette with the lives of his victims so he could abuse their comatose bodies.'
The Ventura County Star reported that Luster is registered as a sex offender on California's Megan's Law website, with a Glendora address — and he will have to register as a sex offender for life and will be on supervised parole for the next three years.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement released on Sunday that "this is not an early release."
"According to voter-approved propositions, determinate-sentenced incarcerated individuals may reduce their carceral time due to the earning of worktime and good conduct credits," the CDCR continued. "In this case, Andrew Luster received 977 days of pre-sentence credit and was eligible for credit-earning opportunities while incarcerated."
Luster was first arrested in July 2000 after a college student accused him of raping her at his home, according to court documents obtained by People magazine.
People magazine said investigators discovered a video of Luster drugging and raping the victim as well as two other women while executing a search warrant at his home.
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His trial began in late 2002, and two weeks in, he was able to convince the judge to lift the conditions of his parole so that he could visit his lawyer in Los Angeles over the holidays. Luster — who claims he knew little about this plan and that it was orchestrated by one of his lawyers — soon found himself hiding out in Mexico after paying someone to sneak him over the border.
In June 2003, Luster was heading out for a taco when he was apprehended by popular bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the Guardian reported, adding that that witnesses told police that Chapman's crew "had used an aerosol spray and handcuffs to subdue the rapist, bundled him into one of their two vans, and drove off."
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The Los Angeles Times previously reported that Luster was convicted on 86 counts of rape and drug charges after a jury viewed videotapes he made of himself engaging in sexual acts with three women rendered unconscious by GHB — or gamma-hydroxybutyrate, a "date-rape" drug.
Fox News reported that Luster's 124-year prison sentence was thrown out in March 2013, and he was resentenced to 50 years behind bars because the original judge reportedly made a legal error.
J. David Nick, who represented Luster during his efforts to overturn the sentence, said in an interview that the original judge improperly stacked prison terms without making the findings required under California law, according to Fox News.
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said in 2024 that releasing Luster would be a "grave injustice to the survivors and a threat to public safety," KCAL-TV reported.
According to Nasarenko, Luster "preyed upon young women, primarily in college bars" between 1996 and 2000 while he was in his early 30s, drugging his victims with GHB.
"Luster engaged in sadistic sexual abuse of their comatose bodies," Nasarenko stated in 2024. "In two of the attacks, Luster recorded his rape and sexual abuse of the victims."
Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Anthony Wold condemned the possibility of Luster's release in a 2025 statement:
By drugging his victims into a coma-like state, Andrew Luster played Russian roulette with the lives of his victims so he could abuse their comatose bodies. Even now, he attempts to rewrite the history of his heinous crimes to falsely mitigate his culpability to gain early release. He remains a highly dangerous sexual predator. We continue to maintain he should serve his full sentence. He's earned it.
However, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office said Luster was scheduled to be released from prison no later than Oct. 31, 2026.
KCAL reported that Luster is living in Glendora, which has drawn outrage from city leaders.
"The city of Glendora is beyond disappointed," Mayor David Fredendall stated. "We are outraged."
Fredendall blamed Luster's early release on Proposition 57, a California ballot measure voters approved in 2016 that expanded parole eligibility and sentence-reduction credits for eligible offenders.
"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 continued. "His campaign went so far as to promise that sex offenders would be 'absolutely ineligible for parole under Prop 57.'"
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation stated that Proposition 57 was "overwhelmingly approved by voters in the November 2016 election to enhance public safety, to stop the revolving door of crime by emphasizing rehabilitation, and to prevent federal courts from releasing prisoners."
The CDCR said Prop 57 also "establishes a parole consideration process for determinately sentenced and indeterminately sentenced people convicted of nonviolent crimes, as defined by California Penal Code, who have served the full term for their primary criminal offense and who demonstrate they no longer pose a current, unreasonable risk to the public."
According to the CDCR, Proposition 57 "gives incarcerated people the opportunity to earn additional credits for good behavior and participation in rehabilitative, educational, and career training programs so they are better prepared to succeed and less likely to commit new crimes on the outside."
Meanwhile, Fredendall added, "The State may argue that this was not technically an early release. It can point to sentencing credits, legal calculations, and administrative requirements. 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."
Fredendall continued, "The people of Glendora should not have to worry about their safety because of a decision by the State that allows an individual with a history of rape and violence to now live in close proximity to schools, parks, playgrounds, churches, and community centers."
"The victims deserve better. The people of Glendora deserve better. California must do better," the mayor demanded.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation did not immediately provide more details to Fox News regarding Luster's release date, an explanation of the sentencing calculations, and details about his parole supervision.
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