'Pillowcase Rapist' Christopher Hubbart released, approved to live in this LA County community

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - Despite outrage and opposition from the residents and community leaders, a convicted sexually violent predator known as the "Pillowcase Rapist," has been approved to live in the Antelope Valley.

Christopher Hubbart will live in the Juniper Hills community, LA County DA Nathan Hochman announced. 

What they're saying:

"The District Attorney’s Office will remain vigilant of this placement, holding the safety of our community as the office’s highest priority. Hubbart’s placement marks the third time in three years that a person found suitable for conditional release has been placed in our county’s high desert. This marginalized community should not be a dumping ground for every sexually violent predator that is released in Los Angeles County," Hochman said in part in a statement. 

What we know:

The court ordered that Hubbart be placed by March 22 with members of the housing committee receiving 48-hour notice of his release. However, the court ordered that the notice be kept confidential within the housing committee. On March 21, he was placed at the location.

Hochman said the site, which was proposed by the Department of State Hospitals and their contractor Liberty Healthcare, poses serious difficulties with monitoring Hubbart and has unacceptable safety risks for Juniper Hills and the surrounding communities.

The backstory:

Authorities said this marks the third placement for a sexually violent criminal in the same community in three years. 

Last fall, a judge in Santa Clara County previously ordered that Hubbart be released from a state hospital. That began the process of determining where Hubbart should be housed, with officials ultimately recommending the location in Juniper Hills, south of Pearblossom.

That prompted opposition from residents and some elected officials, who noted that two other sexually violent predators had previously been placed in the Antelope Valley.

According to a minute order released by the Superior Court, the judge, "as required by law," only considered whether the proposed location "is suitable for the respondent's conditional release. That two other sexually violent predators have been released to nearby areas is not relevant to the evaluation of the proposed property, and no alternative placements were suggested by any agency."

SUGGESTED: 

• Community upset over possible release of 'Pillowcase Rapist'
• 'Pillowcase Rapist' Christopher Hubbart to be released from California prison

Hubbart was convicted in 1973, 1982 and 1990 in LA County and northern California for a series of at least 40 rapes and other sex crimes -- reportedly getting the "Pillowcase Rapist" nickname because he used pillowcases to muffle his victims' screams.

He was subsequently detained as a sexually violent predator and committed to the Department of State Hospitals in 2000. Hubbart was initially released from Coalinga State Hospital in July 2014 and assigned to live at a Palmdale-area home -- despite an outcry from residents and elected officials in that area.

In 2017, a judge in Santa Clara County revoked Hubbart's conditional release, ruling that there was "sufficient evidence" to justify ordering him to be re-committed to a state hospital or other approved facility for violating the terms of his release.