ANTELOPE VALLEY, Calif. — A 63-year-old man who raped dozens of women in Southern California then repeatedly reoffended after his release was taken to live in a home east of Palmdale Wednesday on the orders of a judge in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Christopher Hubbart, dubbed the “Pillowcase Rapist,” was placed in a home on a dirt road in the 20300 block of East Avenue R, in the unincorporated Antelope Valley, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
KTLA reports he was greeted by several people, including a freelance cameraman and a woman who repeatedly shouted that the serial rapist wasn’t wanted in the community and should “be afraid.”
Hubbart’s release, which had been opposed by the DA’s office, local politicians and Antelope Valley residents, was ordered by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Gilbert Brown last year.
Brown, who has jurisdiction over Hubbart’s release because the convict’s most recent offenses were in Santa Clara County, determined that Hubbart’s “domicile” was Los Angeles County.
Hubbart grew up in Pasadena and Claremont but has not lived in the area since he was first sentenced in 1972.
Brown approved the Avenue R residence for Hubbart in May.
Video from the scene of Hubbart’s arrival showed a man in the passenger’s seat of a white sedan covering his face with a sheaf of papers as the vehicle drove up to the home. The driver asked a cameraman to stand back, and the cameraman said he was being assaulted.
A woman in the background screamed, “You’re not welcome here, Hubbart. We don’t want you here!”
The vehicle drove behind a gate and a man wearing a baseball cap walked into the home, video from the scene showed.
“We won’t stop this fight! We want him out!” the woman continued to shout. “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
Hubbart registered as a sex offender at the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station and was taken to the home by private firm Liberty Health, which is responsible for his supervision, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“He will be under constant supervision for a period of several weeks to months,” the news release stated.
The home Hubbert will be living in belongs to a convicted felon from Lancaster.
Martyn Haggett, who served eight years in prison for hiring a hit-man to kill his wife, agreed to rent the 800-square-foot home to the government for an estimated $2,800 a month.
Wednesday evening, a group of protesters hung pillowcases on the fence outside the home and carried signs, some wearing matching turquoise T-shirts.
“I’m very angry,” said Palmdale resident Norma Valenti. “Everybody’s afraid. They’re literally scared and fearing for their lives because this man is here.”
The owner of a security firm who accompanied Hubbart to the home said the felon would have 24-hour protection.
“I don’t want to say he’s euphoric, but he’s optimistic and hopes he can to reintegrate back into society and live a normal life,” said John Perry, owner of Sunset Protective Services.
Last week, the DA’s office had said Hubbart’s release was delayed two weeks until on or before July 21 due to a virus outbreak at Coalinga State Hospital, where he was being held.
Hubbart was ruled a Sexually Violent Predator under state law, a determination he unsuccessfully appealed.
After his sentencing in 1972 for assaults in Southern California, he was released in 1979 to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he again sexually assaulted a series of women, according to court records. He was sentenced in 1982 to 16 years in state prison, but was released in 1990.
He again reoffended and had been in state custody since 1996.
After his release to the home near the community of Lake Los Angeles, Hubbart was expected to be required to wear a GPS ankle monitor and attend therapy sessions twice per week.
In addition, a state contractor who supervises sexually violent predators was to be assigned to Hubbart and with him every time the felon is in public for the first six months of his release, the DA’s office had announced.
