Max Factor Heir Andrew Luster Freed After 20 Years
A 2013 judicial ruling cut his 124-year sentence to 50 years, triggering his release this month.
Andrew Luster, the Max Factor cosmetics heir convicted of drugging and raping three women in 2003, walked out of a California state prison earlier this month after serving roughly two decades of what was originally a 124-year sentence. He is now living in Glendora, according to KTLA.
His release ends a years-long legal tug-of-war over his sentence length. A Ventura County judge slashed his original term to 50 years in 2013. State parole boards denied him twice before his calculated prison term expired in October 2026, KTLA reported.
Glendora Mayor David Fredendall called the outcome “unacceptable” in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “Andrew Luster was convicted of 86 felony counts stemming from the drugging and sexual assault of unconscious women,” Fredendall said. “He has now been released from State prison and is reportedly residing in our community.”
Luster used GHB to render three women unconscious at his Ventura County beachfront home before sexually assaulting them, prosecutors said. He fled to Mexico during his trial while free on $1 million bail. Bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman captured him in Puerto Vallarta months later.
The 124-year sentence collapsed in March 2013 when Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kathryne Ann Stoltz ruled the trial court failed to adequately explain its reasons for imposing consecutive sentences. She rejected Luster’s attempt to overturn his convictions but ordered a new sentencing hearing. Judge Stoltz resentenced him to 50 years in April 2013, the Associated Press reported.
That 50-year term became the mathematical ceiling for his incarceration. Under California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation credit formulas, inmates routinely serve far less than their nominal sentences through good behavior and program participation credits.
California Assemblywoman Blanca E. Rubio, who represents the 48th Assembly District, criticized the release in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “I am outraged and deeply disturbed by the decision to grant parole to convicted serial rapist Andrew Luster,” Rubio said. “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.”
Fredendall pointed directly at Proposition 57, the 2016 voter-approved measure that expanded parole consideration for certain 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,” he said.
Luster’s path to release was not linear. KTLA reported he was denied parole in 2022, then granted it in 2024. Ventura County prosecutors successfully challenged that 2024 decision, resulting in another denial in April 2025. His expected release date remained October 2026, when his calculated prison term ended.
Local officials are now focused on containment. Fredendall noted concerns about Luster living near schools, parks and playgrounds. “Our Police Department will work with State parole authorities to ensure every applicable law and condition of supervision is followed,” he said. “But local governments should not be forced to shoulder the public-safety consequences of decisions made in Sacramento without adequate transparency and accountability.”
Rubio stated she is working with local officials and law enforcement to determine the exact conditions of Luster’s supervision.
Fox News Digital reached out to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation seeking confirmation of Luster’s release date, clarification of the sentencing calculations and details about his parole supervision.
