Serial Rapist Refuses Psychiatric Test : Claremont: Failure to submit to exam may again delay the release of Christopher Hubbart from prison.

Serial rapist Christopher Hubbart’s refusal to take a psychiatric examination before his scheduled parole on March 16 puts his release in jeopardy, state Department of Corrections officials said.

Hubbart’s fate now rests with the Board of Prison Terms, which will hold a hearing to determine whether his refusal to take the exam is cause to revoke parole. The hearing is not yet scheduled, said Ted Richey, the board’s executive officer.

In March, 1994, Hubbart failed an 11th-hour psychiatric exam that found him unfit for release. Last-minute psychological examinations have kept seven high-profile sex offenders from parole in Southern California during the last year. Under the state’s 1977 determinate sentencing law, rapists and other criminals are released on set dates--unless they fail a psychiatric exam.

Hubbart’s pending 1994 parole had created a storm of protest in Claremont, where he was scheduled for release to his parents’ home. Since then, parole officials have confirmed that at least one of Hubbart’s rape victims lives within a 35-mile radius of his parents’ house, a finding that would prohibit his release to Claremont. Under state law, a rapist cannot be released to a community within 35 miles of a victim.

Parole officials will not say where Hubbart, 44, would be released if he is cleared for parole. He is presently held at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville. In Claremont, Assistant City Manager Bridget Healy said officials are still tracking Hubbart’s potential release.

“Our position has been that people like this should not be released in our community or any community,” she said.

But no protests or rallies are scheduled, said Mary Richie, executive director of Project Sister in Claremont, which works with survivors of sexual assaults.

Hubbart has been in and out of prison since 1973 for 34 rapes and other crimes in California. In January, 1996, Hubbart’s three-year parole period is up, and he must be released without supervision, regardless of his mental state.