Max Factor heir's former lawyer details judge's error that wiped out 124-year rape sentence
A legal error led to Max Factor heir Andrew Luster's 124-year prison sentence being thrown out and replaced with a 50-year term, setting the stage for the convicted serial rapist's release after roughly two decades behind bars, his former attorney told Fox News Digital.
In an interview Tuesday, J.
David Nick, who represented Luster during his efforts to overturn the sentence, said the original judge improperly stacked prison terms without making the findings required under California law.
The error led to Luster's original sentence being thrown out in March 2013.
He was resentenced to 50 years the following month, while his convictions remained intact.
CONVICTED SERIAL RAPIST ORIGINALLY SENTENCED TO 124 YEARS WALKS FREE AFTER 20, SPARKING OUTRAGE Court records reviewed by Fox News Digital show that Luster was originally sentenced on Feb.
18, 2003, by Ventura County Superior Court Judge Ken W.
Riley.
The sentence included 20 consecutive six-year prison terms for rape convictions, along with a four-year term, totaling 124 years.
Nick explained that California law allows judges to impose consecutive sentences for certain sex offenses but requires specific findings to justify those terms.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kathryne Ann Stoltz granted Luster a new sentencing hearing in March 2013 after finding that the original court failed to adequately explain its reasons for imposing consecutive sentences.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR 2006 SEX CRIME IN NEW YORK Luster, the great-grandson of cosmetics mogul Max Factor, was convicted in January 2003 of 86 felony counts involving the drugging and sexual assault of three women.
At his April 16, 2013, resentencing, Stoltz imposed a combination of consecutive, concurrent and stayed sentences, reducing his prison term to 50 years.
Court records show several rape counts received lower three-year terms rather than the six-year terms imposed during the original sentencing.
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