California GOP Demands Newsom Fire Parole Board After Serial Child Rapist Walks Free
A serial child rapist who terrorized Sacramento-area children for years just won his ticket to freedom—and California Republicans are demanding heads roll at the state parole board that made it happen.
David Allen Funston, 64, earned his release despite being convicted on 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation involving at least eight young victims. The monster lured children—seven girls and one boy—with Barbie dolls and candy before subjecting them to unspeakable horrors. One of his victims, a 5-year-old immigrant girl who barely spoke English, was sexually assaulted and dumped 50 miles from home in a rural county like discarded trash.
Funston received three life sentences in 1999. He should have died behind bars.
Instead, Governor Gavin Newsom’s handpicked California Board of Parole Hearings voted to set him free under the state’s Elderly Parole Program—a disastrous piece of legislation Newsom himself signed into law in 2020.
Republicans Reject Newsom’s Excuses
Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares (R-Santa Clarita) led a Republican charge against the governor’s office, firing off a blistering letter demanding Newsom clean house at the parole board.
“Hearing the news of Funston’s parole made me sick to my stomach,” Valladares stated bluntly. “It made me sick thinking about the pain and suffering he inflicted on his victims, who were very young children, and sick thinking about how a monster like this could be granted parole.”
The Wednesday letter, signed by multiple Senate GOP caucus members, didn’t mince words. Republicans called the decision “unconscionable” and warned that Funston “is still capable of harming children.”
Newsom’s response? Classic political cowardice.
The governor’s spokesperson claimed his hands are tied, insisting the Board of Parole Hearings operates as an “independent agency” and that Newsom “doesn’t agree with the outcome.”
Republicans aren’t buying this convenient fiction for one second.
Newsom Built This Nightmare
Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) demolished the governor’s attempt to dodge responsibility.
“He signed the bill that gave a board stacked with his appointees the ability to set free a violent, serial child rapist into the community,” Jones fired back. The senator revealed he has introduced legislation twice to reform elderly parole laws and prevent predators like Funston from being released.
Democrats killed both efforts.
“Spare us the fake outrage, governor,” Jones declared. “You created this whole system.”
The facts are damning. Newsom expanded the Elderly Parole Program through AB 3234, which allows inmates over 50 who have served 20 years to petition for release—regardless of how depraved their crimes. The governor appointed the board members who voted to free Funston. And now he claims powerlessness?
Law Enforcement Revolts
Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper, a former state Assembly member, unleashed fury at a Monday press conference.
“It is mind boggling that folks that purport to want to protect women and children and put their interests first don’t do a damn thing,” Cooper thundered. “The things he did to these kids cannot be undone—ever. It is not OK.”
Cooper’s rage reflects the frustration of law enforcement officials across California who watched Democrats systematically dismantle public safety protections in favor of criminal-friendly policies dressed up as “reform.”
A Pattern of Soft-on-Crime Failure
The Funston decision isn’t an isolated mistake—it represents the logical endpoint of California’s progressive criminal justice philosophy. Democrats have spent years prioritizing offender rehabilitation over victim protection, expanding early release programs, and appointing parole board members who view even the most dangerous criminals through a lens of misplaced compassion.
The elderly parole program operates on the flawed assumption that age automatically reduces recidivism risk. But predators like Funston don’t age out of their depravity. Their desires don’t evaporate at 50 or 60. The threat remains real.
Funston’s victims—now adults living with permanent psychological scars—must now face the reality that their attacker walks among them once again. The 5-year-old girl he abandoned in a rural county miles from home is now in her thirties. She’ll carry that trauma forever while her abuser enjoys freedom.
Time for Accountability
Valladares and her Republican colleagues aren’t asking for the impossible. They’re demanding Newsom exercise the authority he already possesses. California law grants governors broad appointment powers over parole board members. Newsom can remove commissioners. He can reshape the board’s composition. He can signal clearly that releasing child predators violates basic public safety standards.
Instead, he hides behind procedural excuses while pretending to share the public’s outrage.
This cynical performance fools nobody. Newsom designed this system, appointed these board members, and signed the legislation that made Funston’s release possible. Claiming shock at the predictable results insults Californians’ intelligence.
The Republican letter to Newsom provides a clear path forward: remove the parole board members who voted to free Funston and replace them with commissioners who understand that some criminals forfeit their right to freedom permanently.
If the governor refuses, he owns every consequence that follows—including whatever Funston does next.
California families deserve better than a governor who engineers disaster then claims helplessness when disaster strikes. They deserve leaders who protect children instead of freeing their predators.
The choice facing Newsom is simple: Clean house at the parole board or admit his soft-on-crime ideology matters more than child safety.
Republicans have drawn the line. Now the governor must decide which side he’s on.
