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Outrage over Judge’s order to release serial rapist
Arcadia Weekly May 23, 2014
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Judge’s Order to Release Pillowcase Rapist
Causes outrage in Law Enforcement and community
On Wednesday Detective Division Chief William J. McSweeney addressed Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Gilbert T. Brown at the Santa Clara Hall of Justice Courthouse to oppose the conditional release of Christopher Hubbart, a sexually violent predator.
Chief McSweeney also delivered a letter to Judge Brown, from Los Angeles County Sheriff John L. Scott, in which the Sheriff strongly urged Judge Brown to reconsider his decision to release Christopher Hubbard to the Palmdale community of Los Angeles County.
The Chief was accompanied by Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Carol Burke, the Head Deputy of the Sex Crimes Division.
SHERIFF JOHN L. SCOTT’S LETTER
May 21, 2014
The Honorable Gilbert Brown
Judge of the Superior Court of Santa Clara County
The release of Christopher Hubbart poses a myriad of concerns to the citizens of
Los Angeles County and to the Sheriff’s Department. As you are aware, Mr. Hubbart was convicted in 1972 of raping 14 women. After being paroled in 1983, Mr. Hubbart raped a woman on the very day of his release. Mr. Hubbart raped nine more women in the San Jose area that same year before he was apprehended and returned to prison. He was again released in 1990, but returned to custody a short time later after he took a woman hostage. Mr. Hubbart admitted to raping more than 100 women throughout California between 1971 and 1983, including 26 in Los Angeles County. Mr. Hubbart has an extensive arrest record for violent crimes including rape by threat, sodomy, oral copulation, burglary and false imprisonment. Very few American criminals create the public fear Christopher Hubbart generates.
Mr. Hubbart’s pending release in the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station area will place a substantial burden upon the Sheriff’s Department and the Lancaster Station. As Sheriff, I have a mandated duty to protect the community from violent criminals and to protect individuals from vigilante justice. Mr. Hubbart’s proposed housing raises concerns about both of these hazards.
Although Mr. Hubbart will be fitted with an electronic GPS device, the device will not prevent him from prowling the area seeking potential victims as evidenced recently in four murders in Orange County in which both of the convicted sex offender suspects were on GPS monitoring while committing their heinous crimes. In speaking with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, it was brought to my attention that Mr. Hubbart will not be monitored by a parole agent as his parole obligation has been fulfilled. Therefore, he will be monitored by Lancaster Sheriff’s Station, which has approximately 495 registrants that they must monitor on a daily basis. Having this incredibly “High Risk” offender will increase the workload of the Sex Registrant detectives and, thus, dilute the monitoring of the other registrants in the community.
In summary, I cannot overstate my objection to Christopher Hubbart’s placement in the greater Lancaster community. He is the most prolific and violent rapist I have encountered in 45 years of California law enforcement. He has been declared a mentally disordered and extremely dangerous violent sex offender and his presence in the Lancaster community will strike fear in nearly all of its residents. No one can assure these citizens he will not reoffend. I urge the court to strongly reconsider the current residential placement plan for Christopher Hubbart.
Sincerely,
JOHN L. SCOTT
SHERIFF
Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said Judge Gilbert Brown’s order to release Christopher Evans Hubbart, a violent, serial sex predator, to the Antelope Valley is “an unconscionable threat to public safety.”
The Santa Clara Superior Court judge issued his order today granting the release of the “Pillowcase Rapist,” on or before July 7, 2014. Pursuant to the order, he will reside at 20315 E. Ave R in an unincorporated area near Palmdale.
“Despite the best efforts by the Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, Judge Brown refused to order Hubbart to undergo a new mental health evaluation to determine his mental state prior to his release,” said Antonovich. “His last mental health evaluation was fifteen months ago.”
“The Judge’s order failed to consider the objections by law enforcement as well as the grave concerns expressed by the community who sent thousands of opposition letters,” he said. “It’s outrageous that an admitted sexual predator with a long history of brutal crimes against women be released in this community – or any community.”
Hubbart is a violent sex predator believed to have raped as many as 40 women in a 10-year period. He has admitted to raping 26 women in the Los Angeles area in the early 1970’s and an additional 15 women were raped in the San Francisco Bay area in the early 1980’s. His parole was revoked numerous times due to assaulting women, his mental condition and his threat to public safety.
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