California Judge orders release of man who admitted raping 40 women

A judge on Friday ordered that a serial rapist be released to live in a Los Angeles County community in spite of a host of vocal protests.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Gilbert Brown issued a brief order saying that Christopher Evans Hubbart, 63, must be released by July 7, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement. With several severe restrictions that include 24-hour GPS monitoring, Hubbart will be allowed to rent a small house in a remote area in Lake Los Angeles, near the city of Palmdale.

The offender admitted raping and assaulting at least 40 women between over more than a decade before his capture in 1982 but Police has put the figure at nearly 100 but his release after more than 34 years in jail is considered humane and necessary, according to the Judge ordering his release into the Los Angeles community.

He was convicted of rape, sodomy, and burglary at the age of 21 in 1971 and immediately on his release in 1979 he went onto commit another 15 rapes. When released again he went onto rape at least two women a month before a 16 year sentence for multiple rapes in 1982.

A further release in 1990 saw him attack a jogger within two months and he was placed in a mental institution in 1996 where he remains until his release next month after a long legal fight.

Agencies/Canadajournal