Hearing in Sex Case Postponed
A preliminary hearing for rape suspect Andrew Stuart Luster has been postponed to Nov. 13.
Prosecutors had been scheduled to present their drug and sexual-assault case against the 36-year-old Mussel Shoals man on Thursday but defense attorneys requested a two-month delay to prepare for the hearing.
The request was not opposed by the Ventura County district attorney’s office, which has charged Luster with 50 counts of kidnapping and rape in connection with alleged sexual assaults involving three women.
Authorities say Luster, the great-grandson of cosmetics magnate Max Factor, rendered his victims unconscious with the date-rape drug GHB. Luster has denied the charges.
His attorneys plan to fight the allegations at the preliminary hearing, expected to last four to five days.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Art Gutierrez ordered Luster to have no contact with a male witness and an alleged female victim, identified only as Jane Doe No. 3.
Luster remains held in Ventura County Jail on $10-million bail.
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