CA Law Makes Serial Rapist Eligible for Parole

A serial rapist who sexually assaulted five young women in the Southern California community of Del Mar in the 1990s will be eligible for parole next year.  Teri Figueroa of the Los Angeles Times reports that although Robert Rustad was sentenced to 326-years-to-life for the assaults, because he was under 23-years-old when the committed the crimes, he will eligible for parole after serving first 25 years of his sentence in 2021.  The law in question, SB 394 was signed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2017.  That same year, Brown signed another law (AB 1308) which raised a defendant’s age to 25 when the crimes were committed to be eligible.

The parole eligibility is available for all offenders, including murderers.  Rustad stalked his victims, choosing women who were alone in their homes.  He would enter, often while the victim was in the shower, then tie them up at knifepoint, before sexually assaulting them.  One victim was severely beaten.  In 1996, his last victim, a 22-year-old coed, managed to untie herself and chased Rustad as he was attempting escape until he was tackled by a neighbor.  Rustad plead guilty to three-dozen crimes including the rapes.  His defense attorney said that his immature brain made his less culpable for the attacks and that Rustad has since gained insight and feels “genuine remorse.”  A San Diego Deputy District Attorney disagreed, saying Rustad committed “cold-blooded, premeditated crimes,” calling the laws making him eligible for release a “slap in the face to our victims.”