A California “loophole” had lawmakers calling on the governor and taking their own steps to act after a convicted child molester was granted parole despite a troubling admission.
(Video Credit: KCRA 3)
Soft-on-crime policies reached a new low in the once-Golden State recently when 64-year-old David Allen Funston was granted parole. Now, the California Republican Party is calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to act while the Placer County District Attorney reintroduced a 30-year-old charge in a bid to keep the convicted felon, admittedly still attracted to female children, behind bars.
Previously convicted in 1999 on 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation, California’s 2014 Elderly Parole Program cleared a path for Funston, serving three consecutive life sentences, to make his case to the Board of Parole Hearings for parole after serving more than 20 years and being at least 50-years-old.
Aiming to hold him accountable, the DA filed a felony charge for alleged lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 from a 1996 case that had not been previously pursued because of the existing sentences concerning the man who had lured children as young as three years old with candy and toys.
His most recent photo from prison… pic.twitter.com/poehAItSAW
— Sacramento Sheriff (@sacsheriff) February 23, 2026
Monday in Placer County Superior Court, having been held without bail since Feb. 26, Funston pled not guilty.
“Turning 50 does not mean violent criminals no longer pose a threat to the public, but that’s how this broken system of elderly parole treats them,” Fox News cited California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R) as saying. “If they’re going to let monsters like this out of prison early, despite no signs of true rehabilitation and little of their lengthy sentences actually served, then we have a duty to act.”
Members of the California Republican Party held a press conference on Tuesday, petitioning Newsom to swap out members of the parole board, all of whom had been appointed by him, with the aim of altering what was readily viewed as an egregious decision.
“When a man admits he is still attracted to children and the parole board still votes to release him, that is not rehabilitation,” said state Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares (R). “That is negligence.”
MOMENTS AGO: @CAGOP hosted a press conference to announce they launched a petition demanding Governor @GavinNewsom replace the Commissioners of The Board of Parole Hearings who voted for the parole of convicted serial child molestor David Allen Funston.@SenValladares… pic.twitter.com/akIqx2vzDG
— Eytan Wallace (@EytanWallace) March 10, 2026
“The Parole Board has proven time and again it is incapable of acting in the best interest of Californians,” added Jones as the lawmakers aimed to raise the minimum from 50-years-old to 60-years-old and add five years to the current bar of 20 years served. “It’s painfully clear the legislature needs to intervene.”
“Violent child predators need to stay in our correctional facilities, not get a second chance while victims get a life sentence,” asserted California GOP Chairwoman Corrin Rankin at the press conference. “California families are fed up with Governor Newsom’s soft-on-crime policies that prioritize criminals over victims,” and allow “monsters like serial child predator David Allen Funston” freedom.
A spokesperson for the governor reminded Fox News Digital that Newsom had referred the case back to the parole board to assess public safety risk, only for the board to reaffirm its decision in February, earning the ire of law enforcement.
The release was said to have been approved despite repeated hearings wherein Funston admitted his continued attraction to female children, whom he admitted to targeting because they are “vulnerable and available.”
“If the governor can sign laws with loopholes and appoint the people who make parole decisions, then it’s his responsibility to step in and right this egregious wrong,” said Sen. Martinez Valladares.
Speaking to the wrongs committed, a victim identified as Amelia had previously told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the abuse left her with difficulties in attempting to conceive a child. “I would love to have a child, and this is what this man took from me. And I feel like, personally, that’s very hurtful. I have trauma. I don’t trust anybody. I don’t trust anything.”
“If he gets out, who knows if he’ll do it again?” she said. “I was told that he fantasizes still about children … why would you let this man out? When he gets out, how do you not know if he will continue?”
Funston’s next court appearance is slated for April 6.
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