Posted on 01/07/2003 2:15:58 PM PST by Liz
Police in California are hunting an heir to the multi-million dollar Max Factor cosmetics fortune.
Andrew Luster, who faces 87 charges relating to date rape, has disappeared in the middle of his trial.
The 39-year-old has been declared a fugitive after he jumped his million-dollar bail over the weekend.
Ventura County District Attorney Gregory Totten said in a written statement that police suspected Mr Luster had fled after he failed to check in with a probation officer on Friday night, as required under the terms of his house arrest.
A search revealed he had disappeared from his beachfront home along with his dog, his car and many of his personal possessions, Mr Totten added.
Mr Luster faces multiple rape charges and stands accused of drugging his victims and then videotaping his assaults.
His lawyer, Roger Jon Diamond, told the Los Angeles Times newspaper that he did not believe his client would run away.
He said he feared he may have been in a car accident.
"Flight is inconsistent with everything I know about him," Mr Diamond said of the make-up heir.
Bail was initially set at $10m after prosecutors argued that Mr Luster might flee.
It was later reduced to $1m, which was deposited by Mr Luster and his mother.
'Unconscious women'
The great grandson of Max Factor, Mr Luster was arrested after a woman he met went to the police alleging he had spiked her drink with the so-called "date rape" drug, Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB).
When detectives raided his home, they say they found 17 videotapes or Mr Luster having sex with apparently unconscious women, many of whom have yet to be identified.
Detectives were reportedly investigating whether he could have been part of an international ring of playboy millionaires said to be known as the Bachelors, who trade film of their date rape attacks over the internet.
Several years ago a British woman claimed that she had fallen victim to such a gang, telling police she had been raped in a London hotel after GHB was slipped into her drink.
Mr Luster has consistently denied the charges against him, claiming the women on the videotapes were engaged in consensual sex.
He had been under house arrest for the last two years pending his trial.
The judge has now decided the trial will continue without him and, if found guilty, Mr Luster faces life imprisonment.
Yeah, sure He took his valuables and his dog and had an "accident."
"Who wants to marry a millionaire rapist on the run?"
"Flight is inconsistent with everything I know about him," Mr Diamond said of the make-up heir.
A serial rapist is too morally upright to split?
Yea right .. this lawyers is too sharp is he??
In California? Not a chance. Kenneth Parnell, who kidnapped and raped a 7-year-old boy and has multiple child rape convictions, only served 5 years before his release. But Mr Luster won't serve time at all. As we speak, the French are hand-feeding him their best brie while he guzzles champagne in the "planetary enzyme's" cottage.
I think the lawyer meant to say "truck," semi-truck. He fears Andy lost control of his Ryder semi-truck, full of all his household goods, while speeding South toward the border at 90 mph. Why, the poor boy could be lying out there somewhere on I-5 in Los Angeles this very minute, trapped in the wreckage and unnoticed by passersby.
Good flick.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.