BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — A 75-year-old convicted child molester will remain in prison after the California Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) denied his release last Wednesday, according to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.
The board found that Lar Kitt poses a “current and unreasonable risk” to residents and issued a three-year denial.
Kitt’s case dates back to 1993 and 1994, when prosecutors said he began a romantic relationship with the mother of two children in the Lake Isabella area. Prosecutors said that on March 26, 1997, Kitt sexually assaulted one of the children.
Before the assault, prosecutors said Kitt placed a stocking over his head and tied his hands behind his back. Prosecutors said Kitt then placed a knife to the child’s throat, walked him to the master bedroom, and tied the victim’s legs to the headboard of the bed. Prosecutors said the victim was sexually assaulted by Kitt and by his mother, who witnessed and participated in the abuse.
Prosecutors said the following morning, when the victim’s mother was about to subject her son to more abuse, the child ran out of the house to school to get help and told authorities.
Kitt was convicted on March 17, 1998, on three counts of forcible oral copulation, one count of lewd and lascivious acts on a child aged 14 or 15, and one count of false imprisonment. The jury also found true a special allegation that Kitt bound the victim during the sexual assault. In a separate proceeding, the trial court found true that Kitt had suffered a prior conviction for a qualifying strike under California’s Three Strikes Law.
In May 1998, Kitt was sentenced to 33 years and four months to life in prison.
Lar Kitt. Photo: Kern County District Attorney’s Office.
Kitt has served about 29 years in state prison, and his minimum eligible parole date is not set until 2044. He was considered for early release under California’s Elder Parole laws and had his first parole hearing in April 2023, the district attorney’s office said.
At Kitt’s second parole hearing on April 29, 2026, commissioners focused on what the district attorney’s office described as Kitt’s continued lack of sex offender programming, his criminal history — including a prior conviction for murder in 1976 in Los Angeles County — his lack of credibility related to his criminal history, and his failure to complete any of the prior board’s recommendations.
The Kern County District Attorney’s Office asked the board to deny parole, and the board found Kitt not suitable for release because he continues to pose a current and unreasonable risk of danger to society. The board can deny inmates parole for periods of three, five, seven, 10 or 15 years.
“This case is a prime example of the risks posed by California’s Elder Parole laws, which allow even the most dangerous offenders the opportunity to seek early release,” Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer stated. “Our office remains committed to advocating for public safety and will continue to fight to keep Kitt behind bars, despite the laws that work against our community.”