HOLLYWOOD—On Tuesday, October 1, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced in September that Christopher Hubbart will be released from the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) and potentially placed in the Antelope Valley per the DSH’s recommendation.
In 1973, 1982 and 1990, Hubbart, also known as the “Pillowcase Rapist,” was convicted in Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties for a series of rapes and other sex crimes.
“The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office opposed the release of Christopher Hubbart from confinement at Coalinga State Hospital,” said District Attorney Gascón. “We opposed the Santa Clara County Court’s finding that Los Angeles is his county of domicile. We come before the court now to oppose the proposed placement location in Pearblossom, an unincorporated community in the Antelope Valley. The proposed site poses serious difficulties for Mr. Hubbart and unacceptable safety risks for the community. This marginalized community should not be a dumping ground for every sexually violent predator that is released in Los Angeles County,” added Gascon during a public hearing held at the Hollywood Courthouse to address Hubbart’s placement in Los Angeles County upon his release.
On Wednesday, September 4, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office disclosed that Hubbart will be released from the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) and a hearing to determine his placement will be held in October.
In March 2023, the Santa Clara County Superior Court against objections from the LADA’s Office granted the conditional release resulting in Hubbart coming back to Los Angeles. The Santa Clara Superior Court determined that Los Angeles County is to be Hubbart’s domicile, setting the stage for his potential release to the Los Angeles County area.
The decision transfers the responsibility of housing Hubbart to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which will make the final decision as to where he is placed. Once Santa Clara County Superior Court granted conditional release, DSH and Liberty Healthcare, a health and human services management company, started the search for appropriate housing.
“Continuing to release sexually violent predators into underserved communities like the Antelope Valley is both irresponsible and unjust,” said District Attorney Gascón. “Repeatedly placing these individuals in the same community shows a blatant disregard for the safety and well-being of our residents. Our deputy district attorneys will persist in opposing Mr. Hubbart’s placement in the Antelope Valley. We must demand more from our judicial system, ensuring decisions serve the best interests of our communities while exploring alternative locations for these placements.”
Before his release, the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office sought his civil commitment as a “Sexually Violent Predator” under the Sexually Violent Predator Act, resulting in his commitment to the Department of State Hospitals in 2000.
He would use pillowcases to muffle the screams of his victims. He admitted to more than 40 rapes during 1971 and 1982, several of those rapes transpired in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2014, Hubbart was released from Coalinga State Hospital to a home in the Antelope Valley. He has been required to wear a GPS ankle monitor since his release and adhere to random searches and a strict curfew.
The LADA’s Office notes on its website when an inmate who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense (qualifying conviction) is within six months of being paroled from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), they will be referred to the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) for a mental health evaluation by at least two experts who will opine whether the inmate meets the sexually violent predator (SVP) criteria.
In addition to the qualifying conviction, the SVP criterion requires a diagnosable mental disorder and the likelihood that the person will engage in acts of sexual violence without appropriate in-custody treatment for their mental disorder.
If DSH determines that an individual meets the SVP criteria, they will be referred to the Sexually Violent Predator Unit of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, who will determine whether to file a petition seeking civil commitment to a secure mental institution under the Welfare & Institutions Code. The SVP Unit is a unit of the Sex Crimes Division comprised of highly experienced and specially trained prosecutors who handle all aspects of the SVP commitments in court.
Once a court or jury finds a person to be an SVP beyond a reasonable doubt, the SVP is committed to DSH, where they can receive sex offender treatment. The SVP will remain committed to DSH until a court determines that they are either ready for community-based treatment (conditional release) under the supervision of DSH’s Conditional Release Program (CONREP) or no longer present a danger to the community (unconditional discharge).
In March 2023, against the objections of the LADA to his conditional release, Santa Clara County Superior Court ultimately granted the conditional release resulting in Hubbart coming back to Los Angeles. The Santa Clara Superior Court recognized Los Angeles County as Hubbart’s domicile, setting the stage for his potential release to the Los Angeles County area.
“Mr. Hubbart’s prior release in a nearby community was fraught with problems and ended in his return to confinement in the state hospital. Should the court place him at the proposed location, there is no reason to expect a different result this time. This is an inappropriate placement location for Christopher Hubbart. The court should reject the proposed site and order Liberty Healthcare to begin a new housing search,” District Attorney Gascón added.
By Trevor