Serial Rapist and Cosmetics Heir Sentenced to 124 Years in Prison Walks Free After 20, Despite Victims’ Objections
Andrew Luster in 2001Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty
Andrew Luster was convicted of raping and drugging 3 women at his California home and filming the sexual assaults
The great-grandson of Max Factor Sr., now 62, fled to Mexico during his trial but was later captured by Duane “Dog” Chapman
He was initially sentenced to 124 years but walked free after 20 and is now living in Glendora, Calif., according to the city’s mayor
A California mayor is voicing his outrage after learning a serial rapist is living in the community.
“The City of Glendora is beyond disappointed. We are outraged,” says Mayor David Fredendall, whose family has lived in the city — located approximately 25 miles northeast of Los Angeles — going back six generations.
The man causing that outrage is Andrew Luster, a convicted serial rapist who is also the great grandson of Max Factor, Sr., founder of the eponymous make-up brand that was specifically made for motion pictures when first released in 1914.
Andrew LusterCredit: Ventura County Sheriff's Department/Getty
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Luster, now 62, was first arrested in July 2000 after a local college student accused him of raping her at his home, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE.
That woman’s story was quickly corroborated when investigators executing a search warrant at Luster’s home found a video recording which showed him drugging and raping the victim.
They also found tapes that showed Luster sexually abusing two other women, and he was ultimately charged with 86 counts related to his drugging and raping of these three women.
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.
He managed to evade authorities for months despite an aggressive push by FBI agents to track him down, but his luck ultimately ran out in June 2003 when Duane “Dog” Chapman apprehended him in Puerto Vallarta.
By that time, a jury had already convicted Luster in absentia and the judge in the case sentenced him to 124 years in prison.
Luster lost his right to appeal his verdict due to his status as a fugitive but did file a petition of habeas corpus that was granted in 2012.
The Ventura County Superior Court subsequently vacated his 124-year sentence and resentenced him to 50 years.
Andrew Luster in 2003Credit: Nick Ut/AFP/Getty
Luster then received further reductions with the passage of Prop 57 in California, a ballot measure which made individuals who commit non-violent crimes and have no criminal records eligible for early release.
That led to much debate, however, over what is defined as a violent crime — and for some, Luster’s release is the exact scenario they feared might happen.
“A man convicted of repeatedly drugging and raping unconscious women was sentenced to serve 124 years in prison, has now been released after serving only 20 years in prison, under a sentencing framework that Proposition 57 helped create,” Mayor Fredendall said.
Luster became eligible for parole in 2024, and at every court hearing since then, his three accusers have attended to object to his release.
“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,” said Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Anthony Wold in a statement after a 2025 parole hearing. “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.”
Wold added: “We continue to maintain he should serve his full sentence. He’s earned it.”
A lawyer for Luster did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Source: Crime
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