FURIOUS Sacramento Sheriff TORCHES Newsom’s “Elderly Parole” Scheme After Serial Child Rapist Set Free
Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper expressed outrage this week after convicted serial child molester David Allen Funston was approved for parole under California’s Elderly Parole Program. Funston, 64, was convicted in 1999 for kidnapping and molesting multiple young children in Sacramento County during the mid-1990s.
At the time of sentencing, a judge labeled Funston a threat to society and handed him three consecutive 25-to-life terms, plus additional time—effectively a life sentence, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Under California’s Elderly Parole Program, inmates over 50 who have served at least 20 years can be considered for release if they are not on death row or serving a sentence of life without parole. Funston, now 64 and having served 27 years, qualified for review under the program.
KTLA reports that inmates are eligible for their first Elderly Parole hearing after 20 continuous years of incarceration if they are 50 or older, or after 25 years if they are 60 or older, as long as their sentence does not make them ineligible.
Sheriff Cooper criticized the parole board and Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration for allowing a convicted predator to be considered for release.
“I got a phone call from a retired Sheriff Sergeant who had worked child abuse cases in 1995 about Funston,” Cooper said at a press conference. “He was furious to read he might be released. I had no idea. When I read the articles, I got the wheels rolling.”
Cooper detailed the scope of Funston’s crimes, including abducting children as young as three and violently molesting them. “One young girl in North Highland was kidnapped, driven to Placerville, and assaulted,” Cooper said. “He was caught through the hard work of the Sheriff’s office, thousands of pages of interviews, and resilient kids identifying him.”
Cooper emphasized the injustice of the Elderly Parole Program in cases like Funston’s. “He should have been in prison for life. Unfortunately, a 2020 law allowed parole eligibility at 50 after 20 years. Funston is 64 now. That is dead wrong. He stole these children’s childhoods. People like him don’t deserve a second chance.”
He also expressed frustration with California’s handling of crimes against children. “We fight human trafficking, mental health aversion laws, and the destruction of childhoods, yet offenders like Funston can be considered for release. It makes no sense, and someone has to speak up.”
Funston was convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation involving multiple young children. A Sacramento judge once described him as “the monster parents fear most.” Despite that, the parole board deemed him suitable for release.
Sheriff Cooper concluded, “This must change. California must protect its children.”
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