Sacramento Sheriff's blunt truth about California unleasing child molestors and predators into communities

 

Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper accurately calls out the failure of California to protect the public; especially from sexual predators.

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.

He was convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation. Multiple young children were victimized, some as young as four years old. He was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, along with three additional consecutive sentences of 25 years to life. A judge described him as “the monster parents fear the most.”

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.

Most states exclude heinous crimes like this from elderly parole. California does not.

Today, a survivor bravely spoke about what this decision means. Detective Rodriguez, who worked this case, knows firsthand what this man was capable of and how he was caught.

The Elderly Parole Program was meant for those who no longer pose a danger. In cases like this, it fails. Our number one responsibility is to protect children. That should never be controversial or partisan.

Protecting children is not rhetoric. It is common sense. Protect children first. Always.