California considers releasing convicted serial rapist into Los Angeles County community
A Los Angeles County supervisor urged her constituents to speak up after California announced a proposal to release a convicted serial sexual predator, dubbed the "Pillowcase Rapist," to a neighborhood in the High Desert.
"Our Juniper Hills, Pearblossom, and the Antelope Valley residents at large have every right to voice their concerns about this predator's placement in their community," Supervisor Kathryn Barger said.
The Department of State Hospitals proposed to house convicted rapist Christopher Evans Hubbart in a remote community near Devil's Punchbowl, a state park about 16 miles southeast of Palmdale.
"While I understand that the state performs a comprehensive study and assessment before proposing a site, nothing takes the place of the real-world perspectives that only community members can offer," Barger said.
In March 2023, a Santa Clara County Superior Court deemed Hubbart suitable for conditional release after spending the better part of the last 50 years bouncing around different Californian facilities for numerous rapes and sexual assaults.
In 1972, Hubbart was sentenced to a state hospital for a series of rapes in L.A. County. After serving seven years, Hubbart was released and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he committed another string of sexual assaults, which he was convicted for in 1983.
In all, Hubbart admitted to sexually assaulting 38 women between 1971 and 1982. He was given the dubious moniker because he muffled his victims' screams with pillowcases. Authorities designated him a sexually violent predator in 2000 and admitted him to a psychiatric hospital.
After 13 years, a judge ordered his release after completing treatment and doctors deemed him fit to live in a community. In 2014, he moved to a small home in Palmdale, where he was forced to wear an ankle monitor, attend therapy, undergo lie detector tests, and allow random searches of his home.
Another condition of his release barred him from viewing movies or online material that would arouse him. Hubbart went back into custody after a judge revoked his conditional release in 2017.
The L.A. County District Attorney will explain Hubbart's latest conditional release on Sept. 4 at the Juniper Hills Community Center, located at 31401 106th Street East, Juniper Hills, CA 93543.
Residents can send written comments to the L.A. County District Attorney's office at svpcomments@da.lacounty.gov before the deadline of Sept. 17.
The hearing to determine if Hubbart's proposed housing situation is suitable will be on Oct. 1 at 1:30 p.m. at L.A. County Superior Court's Hollywood Courthouse.
