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A California child molester once described by a judge as “the monster parents fear the most” has been cleared for release under the state’s elderly parole program — a decision local law enforcement says puts communities at risk and prosecutors are now scrambling to stop.
David Allen Funston, 64, was sentenced in 1999 after a Sacramento County jury found him guilty of 16 felony counts tied to a series of abductions involving children younger than 7.
Funston received more than 20 years in prison plus three consecutive terms of 25 years to life. After serving more than two decades behind bars, he became eligible for consideration under California’s Elderly Parole Program.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) confirmed to Fox News Digital that Funston was granted parole suitability by the Board of Parole Hearings on Sept. 26, 2025.
CDCR said that on Jan. 12, 2026, Gov. Gavin Newsom referred the case back to the Board of Parole Hearings for further review by a majority of appointed commissioners. At a Feb. 18, 2026 meeting, the board panel reaffirmed its decision, recommending that Funston receive parole.
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Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper said that determination is wrong.
“He’s a definite danger to the community, and he’s not rehabilitated,” Cooper told Fox News Digital.
Cooper said he personally reviewed the original case reports and victim statements and questioned how the parole board could reach a different conclusion.
“What’s ironic is the parole board read the same reports that I’m reading,” Cooper said. “How the hell did they come to that conclusion versus what I came to?”
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The detailed testimony from young victims, Cooper added, helped “put this monster away.”
He also pushed back on the premise that turning 50 automatically makes someone safe to release.
“Fifty is not old,” Cooper said. “We know a lot of 50-year-olds. Everyone does.”
Cooper noted that many people in their 50s and 60s are still working and active, underscoring that someone released at 64 is not necessarily frail or incapacitated and could be fully functioning in the community.
When asked whether certain crimes should automatically disqualify someone from elderly parole consideration, Cooper was direct.
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“Crimes and violence, anything of a sexual nature, 100%.”
Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho sharply criticized the decision in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
“This defendant is the worst of the worst – a child predator who lures, grabs, kidnaps, and assaults children. He will reoffend and is a ticking time bomb,” Ho said. “We vehemently opposed the early release of this extremely violent predator. This is yet another example that highlights how elder parole is a broken law that results in broken promises and broken lives.”
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Ho said prosecutors appeared during the last hearing and “strenuously objected” to Funston’s early release. He said actions would be taken to “stop this predator’s release.”
Some of Funston’s victims dispute the parole board’s conclusion.
“He shouldn’t be breathing the same air that we’re breathing,” one survivor, who was abducted at age 4, told the Los Angeles Times, calling him “a monster” and expressing fear about the possibility of his release.
Funston’s crimes shook the Sacramento area in the mid-1990s. Prosecutors said he approached children playing outside their homes and lured them with candy, toys and promises before abducting and assaulting them. Trial testimony detailed threats meant to silence victims, including holding a knife to a young girl’s throat.
Former Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who helped prosecute the case, told the Los Angeles Times it was the worst child sexual predator case she ever handled.
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Schubert also told the Times she has formally asked CDCR to evaluate Funston under California’s Sexually Violent Predator law, which can result in civil commitment to a state hospital rather than release if an offender is deemed likely to reoffend.
In a letter referenced by the Times, Schubert argued that the pattern of crimes involving multiple very young victims, coercion and threats falls squarely within the category of offenders the law was designed to address.
It remains unclear when or where Funston will be released. CDCR records show he is still incarcerated at the California Institution for Men in Chino.
A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom told Fox News Digital that the governor referred review of the case to the Board of Parole Hearings to determine suitability and public safety risk.
The administration noted that parole eligibility is set by state law and sentencing decisions, while the parole board determines whether an inmate poses an unreasonable risk before release. The governor’s office also pointed to data showing parole is granted in a small percentage of hearings and that individuals released through elderly parole have historically had low recidivism rates.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
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