By Los Angeles County Politics
Glendora’s mayor says the city is outraged that Andrew Luster, the Max Factor cosmetics heir convicted of drugging and raping women, has been released from state prison after about 20 years and is reportedly living in the city.
Luster, 62, was released to parole supervision earlier this month, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). He was convicted in 2003 of 86 felony counts for drugging and sexually assaulting three women between 1996 and 2000, and became an international fugitive when he fled to Mexico during his trial. Bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman captured him there months later.
“The City of Glendora is beyond disappointed. We are outraged. 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,” said Glendora Mayor David Fredendall in a statement Friday.
Fredendall blamed Proposition 57, the 2016 ballot measure that expanded parole consideration and allowed state prisons to award more credits for good behavior and rehabilitation.
“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.’ Those were not casual assurances. They were promises made to the people of California to secure their votes, yet here we are,” said Fredendall.
“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 added.
The state says Luster completed his sentence. A judge threw out his original 124-year sentence in 2013 and resentenced him to 50 years, according to the Associated Press.
CDCR told NBC Los Angeles that Luster received 977 days of credit for time served before sentencing and could earn credits while in prison. The state parole board denied him early release more than once, most recently in 2025, but his release date was set regardless. In 2024, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted him, warned that his sentence would end by Oct. 31, 2026.
“Unfortunately, even if parole continues to be denied, Luster will be released from prison in approximately two years,” said Tony Wold, the senior deputy district attorney who prosecuted Luster, in a 2024 statement.
Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio (D-Glendora, Baldwin Park, Covina, West Covina, Azusa, Monrovia), whose district includes Glendora, also condemned the release.
“I am outraged and deeply disturbed by the decision to grant parole to convicted serial rapist Andrew Luster. It is incomprehensible that an individual originally sentenced to 124 years in prison for such horrific crimes could be granted parole after serving approximately 20 years,” said Rubio in a statement following Luster’s release.
Fredendall said Glendora police will work with state parole officials to make sure every condition of Luster’s supervision is enforced, and called on Sacramento to explain the circumstances of his release.
“We will do everything within our lawful authority to protect our residents. But local governments should not be forced to shoulder the public-safety consequences of decisions made in Sacramento without adequate transparency and accountability,” he said.
