As the state of California prepares to release convicted serial rapist Christopher Hubbart, residents of a small rural neighborhood are preparing to defend themselves.
Dubbed the "pillowcase rapist," Hubbart is set to arrive at the Lake Los Angeles community in under two weeks after spending the last 18 years in a state mental hospital. The 63-year-old has admitted to raping nearly 40 women between 1971 and 1982, a number authorities believe is lower than the actual number of women he victimized.
Community residents sent some 12,000 letters to a judge in Santa Clara County demanding Hubbart stay where he is. But their requests were denied and now residents are fearful they could be attacked, KABC-TV reported.
"Keep that trash out of here. I have two daughters and four granddaughters," resident Brad Squires told the station. "I don't need that kind of stuff coming around my neighborhood."
Others are taking self-defense classes.
"There's already so many sex offenders already out here," Cheryl Holbrook told KABC-TV. "It needs to be for all of them."
This is not the first time Hubbart has been released. Hubbart was convicted in 1972 for 14 rapes and paroled in 1983, but he raped 10 more women and was put back in the slammer, according to the New York Daily News.
He was granted parole again in 1990, only to be re-arrested two months later after another assault. He was paroled once more in 1993 but sent back. By 1996, he was labeled a sexually violent predator and sent to the Coalinga State Hospital.
Hubbart's latest release comes with strict conditions. He is to wear a GPS monitor at all times and is to be accompanied by a supervisor every time he goes out for the first six months to a year after his release. He is also required to attend therapy sessions twice a week.
In the meantime, workers are preparing a house on the outskirts of Lake Los Angeles for Hubbart to live in. A propane tank and telephone lines have been installed while landscapers have fixed the yard.
Hubbart is scheduled to be released no later than July 7.
"They're going to have a crowd out front," Squires told the station. "He'll be lucky to make it in the door."
