The great-grandson of Hollywood cosmetics tycoon Max Factor has been declared a fugitive and ordered to be arrested for skipping his trial for allegedly "date-raping" three women.
The arrest warrant was issued after Mr Andrew Luster (39) did not show yesterday at his trial near Los Angeles on 87 counts linked to the alleged cases of drugging and raping women, reports said.
"The chances of getting Mr Luster back here may be slim," Ventura County Superior Court Judge Ken Riley was quoted as saying by the Ventura County Star.
Mr Luster, who was arrested in 2000, had been under house arrest after posting $1 million bail, which was lowered on appeal from an initial $10 million.
The lawyer for the heir to the make-up fortune, Mr Roger Diamond, said he had not heard from his client in several days, while neighbours reported they had not seen him since Friday.
But Mr Diamond took issue with the judge's terming of Mr Luster as a fugitive and insisted that something must have happened to him, including a possible kidnapping.
"We fully expected that he would be here. We are surprised he is not here this morning," Mr Diamond said, according to the paper.
The judge has ordered Mr Luster's trial continue in his absence, and an empty chair was left for him in the court where proceedings were due to resume today.
Mr Luster's car and several personal items are missing. He had been forced to hand over his passport as a condition of his bail.
AFP