“You became the monster parents fear the most,” Sacramento Superior Court Judge Jack Sapunor told convicted serial child David Allen Funston when he sentenced him to consecutive life sentences in 1999 – but now, a California board has now paroled him, sparking outrage from victims, police and citizens alike.
On February 18, the California Board of Parole dismissed objections and reaffirmed its 2025 decision to grant parole to the 64 year-old Funston using the state’s Elderly Parole Program for inmates age 50 and above who have served at least 20 years in prison.
Funston is currently serving a sentence of 20 years and 8 months, plus three consecutive sentences of 25 years to life.
He was found guilty of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation, including rape, of eight Sacramento-area children. Of the seven girls and one boy, the youngest victim was three years old. The oldest was seven. Some were beaten.
“What the hell is going on in California?” Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper asked at a press conference Monday, condemning the state’s program that allows Funston’s parole.
“The things he did to those children cannot be undone. Ever,” Sheriff Cooper said. “Victims come first, especially children,” Cooper said, declaring “I’m pissed.”
“You don’t rehabilitate individuals like that. They have an appetite for it,” the sheriff said, adding that age does not erase predatory behavior.
“We can’t have this. It’s got to change,” Sheriff Cooper said, explaining that California’s compassion is misplaced:
“Where’s the compassion for the victim? There’s zero compassion for the victim. They don’t give a damn about the victim. The care about the suspect doing this.”
One of Funston’s victim, identified as Amelia, also spoke at the press conference. “This man took innocence from myself and others,” she said. “He, he is a criminal child molester, dangerous and deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.”
“I’m disgusted with the fact that (the parole board) would even believe anything that he happened to say,” Amelia said in an interview with The Ingraham Angle on Wednesday. “I don’t believe that people like that change,” she said, adding that some things “cannot be forgiven.”
“We’re absolutely doing everything we possibly can. We just fired off another letter to the parole board asking them to rescind this. There is legal authority for them to do that,” former Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert told The Angle:
“We’re also asking for the law to be changed.
“We’ve asked for him to be deemed a sexually-violent predator, so he can be civilly committed.”
— Craig Bannister (@CraigBBannister) February 26, 2026
“Everything in our power we’re going to do. And, at a minimum, we’re going to do everything to change this law,” Schubert vowed.
The Elderly Parole Program, which was initially codified by AB 1448 and signed into law by Democrat Governor Jerry Brown on Oct. 11, 2017, allowed for the parole of inmates at least 60 of age who had served at least 25 years.
Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom lowered the eligibility age to 50 and time-served minimum to 20 years on September 30, 2020 by signing AB 3234.
SENTENCED TO THREE LIFE TERMS: WHY WAS SERIAL CHILD MOLESTER DAVID FUNSTON GRANTED EARLY RELEASE?
— Sacramento Sheriff (@sacsheriff) February 23, 2026
The people of Sacramento, and every parent across California, deserve answers.
The California Parole Board has granted parole to David Allen Funston, a serial child molester who… pic.twitter.com/HzvOORZXw5
“[Funston] was hunting for young children. He lured them with toys and Barbie dolls. He’s the poster child for why sex offenders should be exempt from elderly parole,” Schubert told The Sacramento Bee on Monday.
“The victims here, they got a life sentence. OK, a life sentence," retired Detective Rafael Rodriguez, who worked on the original investigation, said at Monday’s press conference, denouncing the decision to release Funston.
“This monster. He was sentenced to almost or a little over 90 years. He’s done less than a third of that, and he’s going to be on the streets,” Undersheriff Mike Ziegler said at the event, warning that “A third of our current child abuse suspects will be eligible for parole as soon as they turn 50.
“That’s the problem with the law,” Undersheriff Ziegler said.
