A man known as the “Pillowcase Rapist” for his brutal attacks on women in the 1980s and ’90s was ordered released into the Antelope Valley despite the protests of hundreds of nearby residents who say their area has become a dumping ground for sex offenders.
Christopher Hubbart was committed to a state hospital for much of the last 24 years after he admitted to 44 sexual assaults over an 18-year-period. He would cover his victims’ heads with pillowcases while raping and assaulting them.
His release to the rural community of Juniper Hills in the Antelope Valley was met with indignation Tuesday, especially because two other violent sexual predators were placed in the community in 2021.
“I am outraged and extremely frustrated to learn that a third Sexually Violent Predator will be housed in the Antelope Valley. The L.A. Superior Court’s ruling on the ‘Pillowcase Rapist’s’ placement is simply appalling,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “Hubbart was already placed in this region in 2014, only to be removed for violating conditions of release. The bottom line is he belongs in a secure and locked facility. Community integration should never have been on the table.”
But a judge saw it differently. A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ruled in 2023 that Hubbart was suitable for conditional release, sparking the search for a possible home for the convicted felon.
The judge responsible for the placement of Hubbart said the two other sexual offenders in the area could not be factored into his decision.
“That two other sexually violent predators have been released to nearby areas is not relevant to the evaluation of the proposed property and no alternative placements were suggested by any agency,” wrote L.A. Superior Court Judge Robert Harrison in a Monday decision to release Hubbart.
Residents of the Antelope Valley were shocked.
“I think we’re all just in a state of shock at the moment. Some of us who have been through this before are not surprised but still heartbroken,” said Mary Jeters, who runs the Facebook group No SVP’s in the Antelope Valley. “I really thought, with public officials coming out against his release here, that we might have had a chance this time but seems pretty clear that was not planned.”
Jeters said neighbors in Juniper Creek told her they are coming up with contingency plans, like more fencing and security cameras.
There is no recent data about the percentage of sex offenders released in the Antelope Valley, but the Antelope Valley Times called the area a “dumping ground for sex offenders” in 2014, documenting 876 registered offenders in the region. California’s Megan’s Law database showed 673 offenders, which accounted for about 6% of the total sex-offender population in Los Angeles County.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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