Sacramento sheriff blasts California’s Elderly Parole Program that could release serial child molester despite 3 lifetime sentences

A serial child molester imprisoned at a Southern California correctional facility has been approved for parole, prompting anger and concern among victims, prosecutors, and the public. The Sacramento Sheriff's Office has slammed a program that would allow the now-64-year-old child molester to walk free.

David Allen Funston was found guilty in 1999 in Sacramento County on 16 felony counts involving the kidnapping and molestation of children. Authorities said that between 1995 and 1996, he targeted young kids playing outside their suburban Sacramento homes.

Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper spoke about the case on Monday, where he ripped into the program that could lead to Funston’s early release from prison. "These children, he ruined their lives," Cooper said of Funston. 

The Sacramento Sheriff’s office posted, “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 used candy and toys to lure children seven years old and younger.”

The office later added, “Yet today, the parole board has determined he is suitable for release. How do they explain that to those children and their parents? How do they tell families that a predator of this nature is ‘no longer a risk’? Under California’s Elderly Parole Program, inmates over 50 are eligible for parole. He is 64. Age does not erase predatory behavior. It does not undo grooming. It does not restore stolen childhoods. Childhood sexual predators do not suddenly become safe because they turned 50; they cannot be rehabilitated.”

Funston qualified for parole consideration under California’s Elderly Parole Program despite being sentenced to three life terms in prison. The program allows certain inmates to receive hearings after long prison terms.

The program applies to prisoners who are not sentenced to death or life without parole and who meet age and time-served requirements. Inmates may qualify after serving at least 20 years and reaching age 50, or after serving 25 years and reaching age 60. As of 2026, Funston is 64 years old and has spent 27 years behind bars, meeting the eligibility threshold for review under the program, per KTLA.

One victim, who was only four years old at the time of her abduction and assault, told the Los Angeles Times she was horrified by the parole decision. She described Funston as “horrible” and “a monster.”

“He shouldn’t be breathing the same air that we’re breathing at all,” the victim told the Times. “I disagree with him getting paroled out because he’s a horrible person. That man is a monster."