UPDATE: A 64 year-old convicted serial child molester was immediately rearrested upon his Elderly Parole Program release in California on Thursday.
National outrage over the parole of David Allen Funston - who had been serving more than three consecutive life sentences since 1999 for convictions on 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation of eight children between three and seven years old – was quelled Thursday when the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced that it had turned Funston over to local law enforcement to face new charges:
“Funston, 64, was scheduled to be released on parole today. However, Placer County issued a new warrant for his arrest and CDCR turned Funston over to law enforcement authorities.”
The district attorney's office said the 1996 charges were refiled within the statue of limitations of crimes in Placer County, local ABC10 reports:
“‘To be clear, this individual was previously sentenced to multiple life terms for extremely heinous crimes,’ Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire said in a statement. ‘However, subsequent changes in state law and recent parole board failures have altered the practical effect of those life sentences for the victims and communities at large. When changes in the law put our communities at risk, it is our duty to re-evaluate those cases and act accordingly. David Allen Funston committed very real crimes against a Placer County child, and the statute of limitations allows us to hold him accountable for those crimes.’”
Funston was reportedly turned over to the county on a no-bail arrest warrant on charges of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age. Funston’s accuser, now in her 30’s, was a 10 year-old at the time of the alleged crime and intends to testify in his case.
Funston will be arraigned next week in Placer County Superior Court.
On February 18, the California Board of Parole dismissed objections and reaffirmed its 2025 decision to grant parole to the 64 year-old Funston under the state’s Elderly Parole Program for inmates age 50 and above who have served at least 20 years in prison.
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.
