Max Factor Heir Andrew Luster, Once Sentenced to 124 Years for Drugging and Raping Women, Is Out on Parole; Glendora Mayor: “We Are Outraged”

Andrew Luster, the Max Factor cosmetics heir convicted of drugging and raping women, has been released from a California state prison and is reportedly living in Glendora, a city east of Los Angeles, drawing a sharp response from city officials.

“The City of Glendora is beyond disappointed. We are outraged,” Glendora Mayor David Fredendall said in a statement the city released Oct. 16.

What Glendora’s Mayor 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,” Fredendall said.

The mayor blamed Proposition 57, the 2016 ballot measure that changed parole and sentencing-credit rules in California. “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,” he said, adding that Brown’s campaign had promised sex offenders would be “absolutely ineligible for parole under Prop 57.”

“The State may argue that this was not technically an early release. It can point to sentencing credits, legal calculations, and administrative requirements,” Fredendall said. “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.”

He said Glendora’s police department will work with state parole authorities to make sure every condition of Luster’s supervision is followed. “We are demanding answers from Sacramento,” the statement says. “This outcome does not reflect the justice these crimes demanded. It is unacceptable, and it should never be treated as business as usual.”

How Andrew Luster Got Out

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) says Luster served his full sentence. According to NBC Los Angeles, CDCR said he was released on parole on Oct. 11 “after serving his full sentence as required by law.”

“This is not an early release,” CDCR said in a statement Sunday, as reported by NBC Los Angeles. “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.”

Luster’s original 124-year sentence did not stand. A judge set it aside in 2013 and resentenced him to 50 years, Fox News reported.

Luster had sought parole before. In October 2024, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced that the full state Board of Parole Hearings had reversed an August 2024 decision by a two-person panel that found Luster suitable for parole.

“Our office stands firmly against the release of Andrew Luster,” District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said at the time. The original prosecutor, Senior Deputy District Attorney Tony Wold, warned then: “Unfortunately, even if parole continues to be denied, Luster will be released from prison in approximately two years.” The DA’s office said Luster was “scheduled to complete his sentence on October 31, 2026.”

Fox News, citing KTLA, reported that Luster was denied parole again in April 2025.

The Case

According to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, Luster drugged his victims with gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and sexually abused them while they were unconscious, in crimes committed from October 1996 through July 2000. In two of the attacks, he recorded the abuse. He was convicted of 86 felony counts, including poisoning and rape.

Luster fled to Mexico during his trial and was captured months later by bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman, the DA’s office said. Fox News reported that he fled in January 2003 while free on $1 million bail and was convicted in his absence.

Sources: City of Glendora, “City of Glendora Condemns Release of Convicted Serial Rapist Andrew Luster,” statement from Mayor David Fredendall (Oct. 16, 2026): https://www.cityofglendora.gov/News-Articles/City-of-Glendora-Condemns-Release-of-Convicted-Serial-Rapist-Andrew-Luster ; Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, “Full Parole Board Denies Early Release for Convicted Rapist Andrew Luster” (Oct. 16, 2024): https://www.vcdistrictattorney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Full-Parole-Board-Denies-Early-Release-for-Convicted-Rapist-Andrew-Luster.pdf ; NBC Los Angeles (CDCR statement): https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/andrew-luster-released-on-parole-glendora/3957974/ ; Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/us/convicted-serial-rapist-originally-sentenced-124-years-walks-free-after-20-sparking-outrage