California Approves Parole for Notorious Child Predator
In a shocking move that has caused a wave of anger throughout California, state officials have approved the release of one of Sacramento County’s most notorious child predators, despite previous assurances that he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
David Allen Funston, 64, has been granted parole under California’s Elderly Parole Program, a decision that took many, including his victims and their prosecutors, by surprise. This program permits inmates over the age of 50 who have completed at least 20 years to seek release.
One of Funston’s victims, who was abducted and assaulted at just four years old, expressed her disbelief, stating, “He shouldn’t be breathing the same air that we breathe… I don’t agree with him getting parole because he’s a terrible person. That man is a monster.”
Funston made headlines during the mid-1990s for a series of heinous crimes. He reportedly kidnapped and sexually abused at least eight children—seven girls and one boy—using toys and candy to lure them. One incident involved a five-year-old immigrant girl who was assaulted and left 80 miles away from her home.
Anne Marie Schubert, the prosecutor in the case, recalled the horrifying details: “He seduced this girl, took her to the hills and raped her… She’s five years old, okay?”
Funston’s downfall came when a neighbor witnessed him attempting to lure two children into his car and reported it. He was apprehended in 1996 and received his sentence in 1999, during which a judge labeled him as “the most feared monster parent.”
Although he was denied parole in 2022, he was formally approved for release at a hearing in 2025, with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Board upholding this decision on February 18, according to state records.
Schubert, having described Funston’s case as the most severe child sex offender case she ever prosecuted, urged authorities to keep him confined by committing him to a state hospital under the Sexually Violent Predator Program, which would prevent him from re-entering society.
Currently, Funston remains incarcerated at the California Men’s Facility in Chino, but it remains uncertain when, or if, he will actually be released.
