A California man convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting eight young children in the mid-1990s has been granted parole after serving 27 years in prison, despite receiving three consecutive life sentences intended to keep him behind bars permanently.
David Allen Funston, 64, was convicted in 1999 of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation for crimes committed across the Sacramento region between 1995 and 1996. A Sacramento County Superior Court judge at the time described him as “the monster parents fear the most.” Now, victims, former prosecutors, and law enforcement officials are speaking out in outrage over his impending release.
According to the Sacramento Bee, Funston cruised Sacramento-area streets in 1995, luring children into his car with toys, dolls, and candy. He raped and beat the children, ages three to seven, in his vehicle and at a home before dumping them along roadsides in the Sacramento region. Detectives linked him to the crimes through eyewitness identifications and DNA evidence. His eight victims included seven girls and one boy.
After three days of deliberations in March 1999, a Sacramento County jury convicted Funston on all 16 counts. Superior Court Judge Jack Sapunor sentenced him to three consecutive terms of 25 years to life, plus additional prison time specifically designed to ensure he would never receive a parole hearing.
Funston has been housed at the California Institution for Men in Chino since May 10, 1999. He first became eligible for a parole hearing in January 2021, but the Board of Parole Hearings denied him parole in May 2022. He then waived hearings in 2023 and 2024 before the board found him ‘suitable for parole’ on September 24, 2025.
Because Funston was not sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, he qualified for a hearing under California’s Elderly Parole Program. As reported by KTLA, the program allows inmates who are 60 or older and have served at least 25 consecutive years to be considered for release. Under the program’s rules, commissioners must give “special consideration” to age, time served, and any diminished physical condition when assessing whether an inmate still poses an unreasonable risk to public safety.
Governor Gavin Newsom referred the case back to the full Board of Parole Hearings for review on January 12. However, in non-homicide cases, the governor does not make the final call. On February 18, the full board reaffirmed its decision to grant Funston parole.
The decision has drawn fierce condemnation from victims, law enforcement, and former prosecutors. At a news conference Monday at Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office headquarters in Old Foothill Farms, Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper did not hold back.
“He lured them with candy and Barbie dolls. He stole their childhoods. I’ve seen the reports. They’re horrific. To let him out? It doesn’t make sense,” Cooper said. “The things he did to these kids cannot be undone. Victims come first, especially children. I’m pissed.”
Cooper also urged the public to hold elected officials accountable, saying, “Don’t talk the talk, walk the walk. Protect our children. Don’t protect the perpetrator of these crimes.”
One victim, who was just three years old when Funston attacked her and later testified against him at trial, said, “He is a very horrible person. He took innocence from myself and others. The years he’s done are not enough.” Another victim, who was four at the time of her kidnapping and assault, told the Los Angeles Times, “He shouldn’t be breathing the same air that we’re breathing at all. That man is a monster.”
Retired sheriff’s detective Rafael Rodriguez, who worked the original case, was equally blunt. “I was outraged. I was hoping he’d perished in prison long ago,” he said. “The victims here? They get a life sentence.”
Former Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who prosecuted the case as a deputy district attorney, called it “probably the worst child predator case I’ve ever seen or ever prosecuted.” In an interview with KTLA, Schubert described how Funston “abducted children as young as four” and committed acts of extreme violence, including beating one child and stuffing her underwear down her throat “because she was screaming so much.”
Schubert has written a letter to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) requesting that Funston be screened for the state’s sexually violent predator program, which can allow certain offenders to be released from prison but committed to a state hospital if they are deemed a continuing risk to the public. Under California law, prosecutors must petition and a judge must approve such a commitment.
As of Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Funston remains housed at the California Institution for Men in Chino. CDCR has not disclosed when or where he will be released, citing safety and security policies. It also remains unclear whether he will be referred for sexually violent predator proceedings before any release takes place.
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