Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko holds a letter he wrote to the board of Parole Hearings. The county's top prosecutor had strongly opposed the granting of permission for parole to a notorious rapist, who committed a string of crimes in the county in the late 1990's.
In August, Max Factor heir Andrew Luster had been granted permission for an early release from prison. But – after a hearing Tuesday, that decision was reversed.
"We want Andrew Luster to stay in state prison until his maximum confinement date," Nasarenko told KCLU.
In his letter, Nasarenko laid out his opposition to the early release of Luster, citing the seriousness of his crimes and failure to take responsibility for them.
In the late 1990’s, Luster preyed upon women primarily in Santa Barbara, drugged and raped them at his home in Mussel Shoals. He was convicted of 86 felony counts and – says Nasarenko – he considers him to still be a threat.
"These were violent, horrific crimes," said Nasarenko. "Drugging multiple women into unconsciousness and in that state, raping and sodomizing them. We believe based upon the Board of parole hearings, that he continues to minimize his conduct, not take full responsibility for his actions, and that he continues to represent to Ventura County and other California counties, an ongoing and unreasonable public safety risk," he told KCLU.
One of Luster’s victims, Tonja Balden waived her anonymity and spoke at the hearing, saying she had been "shocked" at the prospect of his earlier release.
"It's scary in some ways because I do have family members and friends say, 'What if you really upset him? What if you know he wants to come after you because of this?' And I guess if that happens, that happens. But I feel so compelled to change things when I see that they're unjust and unfair," she told KCLU.
Nasarenko praised the bravery of Balden and two further victims of Luster, who spoke at the hearing.
"The three women who were victimized came forward and gave strong, courageous statements in opposition to parole. Their voices were integral, I believe, in the recommendation that was handed down yesterday," he said.
Luster became eligible for parole after a change in the law made those convicted of non-violent crimes eligible for parole under California law. Astonishingly, the rape of an unconscious person was – under that law – classified as non-violent.
"The unfortunate thing is he still gets out for Halloween 2026. So he's still going to be getting out without serving his full sentence," noted Balden.
Balden hasn’t just been pivotal in the parole reversal by bravely speaking out about her attacker, but earlier this month was successful in getting a Bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, which closes that legal loophole around the rape of an unconscious person – impacting sentencing and parole in the future.
"I was able to work with this wonderful senator to help get this Bill passed," said Balden. "When you use your voice like that, you can actually......well, that would have never happened."
"I don't like to refer to myself as a victim of rape," she said.
"I'm a survivor of that. Sometimes I want to cry because it's more out of the gratitude that I feel that my efforts have come to fruition," she told KCLU.
Andrew Luster is scheduled to complete his sentence at the end of October 2026…and until then – Nasarenko says he intends to protect the public from him for as long as the law will allow.