Max Factor Heir to Post Bail in Rape Case

Andrew Luster, a wealthy Mussel Shoals man accused of drugging and raping three women, planned to post bail Wednesday and was expected to be released on house arrest by this morning.

Luster, the great-grandson of cosmetics magnate Max Factor, will be confined to his home with an electronic anklet to ensure that he doesn’t leave the country.

Roger Jon Diamond, Luster’s attorney, said his client is ecstatic to be going home for the holidays after spending five months in jail. “It’s like the end of a nightmare for him. He looks forward to . . . being reunited with his family.”

In July, Superior Court Judge Art Gutierrez set Luster’s bail at $10 million, but an appellate court reduced it last week to $1 million, saying the higher bail violated Luster’s rights.

Prosecutors had argued that Luster, whose net worth may be $30 million, might use his family’s money and flee the country. But his attorneys said Luster was not a flight risk and the bail was unreasonable.

The appellate court’s guidelines for Luster’s release include the electronic monitor, drug tests and random searches. He also cannot contact the alleged victims, and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department will hold his passport.

Attorneys met Tuesday with Superior Court Judge Bruce Clark to fine-tune those conditions and the logistics of his release. On Wednesday, Clark read the rules to Luster, who appeared in court dressed in jail blues.

Deputy Dist. Atty. John Blair said he did not want the bail reduced but was satisfied with the restrictions of Luster’s release.

Luster, 37, was arrested in July on suspicion of drugging and raping three women at his home. The arrest came after a 21-year-old Santa Barbara woman told authorities that Luster sedated her with a date-rape drug known as GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, and sexually assaulted her.

Authorities later identified a second alleged victim from homemade videos of sedated women. The third alleged victim, a former girlfriend, came forward and said Luster also drugged and raped her.

Altogether, Luster is charged with 50 criminal counts, including 19 counts of rape of an intoxicated person.

The probation department planned to pick up Luster from jail late Wednesday or early Thursday, fit him with an electronic monitor and drive him home. Officials will then attach a second monitor to his phone. Upon release, Luster will have to sign an electronic monitoring contract.

He will be supervised by the Ventura County Probation Agency and will have to receive permission to leave the home or to have visitors. Phone calls will be limited to five minutes.

Though the county has been holding juveniles on house arrest for several years, adults have traditionally been monitored through private companies. In this case, however, the court asked the probation department to handle the house arrest to avoid contracting out to a private agency.

Probation officials then turned to Christine Weidenheimer, who oversees Juvenile Hall and the Community Confinement Program.

“They wanted a little more control and supervision over this, so they asked us to handle it,” Weidenheimer said.

A friend of Luster’s, who declined to give his name, said family members were lining up to post the bail. “But he felt like it was important he did it himself.”

Luster is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 17 for his preliminary hearing.