After it was announced that a convicted sexual predator known as the “Pillowcase Rapist” could potentially be released, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she wants the hearing to be moved to the Antelope Valley.
“The request is a simple request because, at the end of the day, the individual in question is going to be placed in the Antelope Valley, which is the north part of Los Angeles County, which is a distance from downtown,” Barger told KNX News’ Nataly Tavidian.
On March 24, 2023, the Santa Clara County Superior Court found Christopher Evans Hubbart “suitable for conditional release” and ordered the Department of State Hospital (DSH) to begin the search for housing in Los Angeles County, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Palmdale Station.
The Department of State Hospitals proposed that Hubbart, who was convicted of multiple rapes in L.A. County and sexual assaults in the San Francisco Bay Area, should be housed in a remote community near Devil’s Punchbowl.
Barger said that residents in the Antelope Valley should not only have a say in the matter, but should also be able to attend the hearing.
“I feel it's vital, especially for those that already feel disenfranchised by not having it up in the Antelope Valley,” she said. “You're further disenfranchising a community that should have the right to a hearing.”
She added that this isn’t the first or even second time he’s been scheduled for release.
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“This is gonna be his third time getting an opportunity to come out into the community [at] whose costs? At our cost as taxpayers, and I am actually, as a taxpayer, offended that this individual is getting a third chance,” she said.
Barger also said the courthouse in the Antelope Valley should be able to accommodate the hearing.
The hearing is set for October 1.
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