Andrew Luster, convicted rapist and Max Factor heir, released on parole
Andrew Luster, the heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune, was released from prison on parole over the weekend, more than 20 years after he was convicted of drugging and raping three women.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Luster, now 62, was released on Sunday "after serving his full sentence as required by law."
"This is not an early release," CDCR's statement said. "According to voter-approved propositions, determinate-sentenced incarcerated individuals may reduce their carceral time due to the earning of worktime and good conduct credits. In this case, Andrew Luster received 977 days of pre-sentence credit and was eligible for credit-earning opportunities while incarcerated."
The Ventura County District Attorney's Office said that Luster was convicted of 86 felonies, including poisoning, rape, sodomy and oral copulation, in 2003 and was initially sentenced to 124 years in prison.
In 2013, a Ventura County judge set aside Luster's rape sentence, but the conviction still stood. His sentence was reduced to 50 years during a later hearing.
When Luster had his early release from prison denied by a Ventura County judge in 2024, District Attorney Eric Nasarenko said releasing him would be a "grave injustice to the survivors and a threat to public safety."
Nasarenko further said that Luster "preyed upon young women, primarily in college bars" between 1996 and 2000, while he was in his early 30s, drugging them with gamma-hydroxybutyrate, also known as GHB or liquid ecstasy.
"Luster engaged in sadistic sexual abuse of their comatose bodies," Nasarenko said in 2024. "In two of the attacks, Luster recorded his rape and sexual abuse of the victims."
Last year, the DA's Office continued its opposition to Luster's release when there was another consideration hearing.
"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 Senior Deputy District Attorney Anthony Wold. "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."
The DA's Office said that Luster's release was scheduled due in part to provisions in Proposition 57, the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act, which was approved by California voters in 2016.
Related: Cosmetics Heir Kept 'Payback' List
Luster is the great-grandson of cosmetics magnate Max Factor. In 2003, after jumping his $1 million bail in the midst of his trial, Luster spent six months on the run before he was tracked down by Duane Chapman, known popularly as Dog the Bounty Hunter.
