$10-Million Bail Set for Cosmetics Heir in Rapes

Andrew Stuart Luster, suspected of multiple rapes, was held on $10-million bail Wednesday after prosecutors filed 19 new charges and told a judge they have evidence the wealthy scion of cosmetics magnate Max Factor has left victims around the globe.

Luster, a 36-year-old Mussel Shoals resident, now faces 40 criminal charges in connection with three alleged rapes in which authorities say the victims were sedated with a date-rape drug and videotaped.

Authorities say other victims have been identified in crimes “spanning counties, states and countries,” and prosecutors expect more charges to be filed against Luster as the investigation continues.

In the meantime, they pushed for an unprecedented bail amount to prevent Luster’s release.

“We believe the defendant presents a very serious and credible threat,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Becky Day told the judge, describing Luster as a sexual predator who has threatened to kill victims.

Day said deputies found 13 guns, including an illegal AK-47 assault rifle, during a search of Luster’s beach house last week.

She said Luster poses a flight risk because of his family assets and asked the judge to hold him on no bail or at least $10 million. To bolster the request, Day filed a copy of a financial statement indicating that Luster has $8 million invested in a stock portfolio.

But defense attorney Joel Isaacson said his client has no access to that money and earns less than $70,000 a year handling his own investments.

Isaacson said Luster, a father of two, has no criminal record and has lived in Ventura County for 15 years. He called the demand for no bail unlawful and the request for $10 million unrealistic.

“To us, myself personally and all of us working people, including my client, that is a lot of money,” Isaacson said.

Superior Court Judge Art Gutierrez said only suspects in capital murder cases can be held without bail. But he granted the $10-million bail request, which lawyers said is unprecedented in the county.

“There is no question Mr. Luster is a clear and present danger to women,” Gutierrez said in his ruling. “I am satisfied the defendant is a threat.”

Luster, standing behind a cage partition in a blue jail uniform, did not enter a plea to the new rape charges. An arraignment was postponed to Aug. 1, when he is expected to enter a plea to all 40 charges.

Outside the courtroom, Day told reporters the new charges stem from an incident in either 1996 or 1997 in which Luster drugged and repeatedly sexually assaulted a woman previously identified by Ventura County Sheriff’s Department officials as a 27-year-old former girlfriend.

Day said authorities now suspect that Luster has been assaulting woman since as early as 1991. “This is a man we want behind bars,” she said.

Although Luster has not entered a formal plea, Isaacson said his client “absolutely denies the charges” and maintains that any sex with women he met over the years was consensual.

“He’s never been in trouble before,” Isaacson said outside the courtroom. “Remember, these are just accusations at this point.”