By Christine Sellers
California police re-arrested a serial child molester the same day he was set to be released from prison following public backlash.
A parole board granted David Allen Funston, 64, freedom earlier in February through California’s elderly parole program, and he was set to be released Feb. 26 from state prison, according to the Los Angeles Times. Police apprehended Funston on charges from a 1996 case alleging he sexually assaulted a child in Roseville, Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire’s office said.
A jury found Funston guilty on 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation as a result of a 1999 case. He was behind bars on three consecutive sentences of 25 years to life as well as a 20-year and eight-month sentence at Chino’s California Institution for Men. Placer County prosecutors previously decided not to pursue the 1996 case against Funston due to the heavy sentences imposed in the 1999 case, the Los Angeles Times reported. (RELATED: Man Allegedly Assaults Worker At Popular Fast Food Joint. Manager Gets Last Word With Trash Can)
Prosecutors decided to file new charges against Funston in light of his release. Officials booked him for alleged lewd and lascivious acts against a child and are holding him in the Placer County jail without bail.
Gire blamed “changes in state law and recent parole board failures” for Funston’s parole.
“This individual was previously sentenced to multiple life terms for extremely heinous crimes,” Gire said in a statement obtained by the Los Angeles Times. “When changes in the law put our communities at risk, it is our duty to re-evaluate those cases and act accordingly. David Allen Funston committed very real crimes against a Placer County child, and the statute of limitations allows us to hold him accountable for those crimes.”
Anne Marie Schubert, the former prosecutor who tried the accused in the first case, reacted to his release and subsequent re-arrest, saying the matter “shocks the conscience of all Californians,” according to FOX 11.
In California, incarcerated people become eligible for the elderly parole program after reaching age 50 and being incarcerated for 20 years or reaching age 60 and being behind bars for 15 years, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Exceptions to the program exist for people who are sentenced to death or life without parole, people behind bars for a second or third strike using California’s strike laws, and those found guilty of first-degree murder of a peace officer or former peace officer in connection with the performance of their formal duties.
Parole commissioners said they did not think Funston represented a significant threat to public safety, citing him attending therapy and sex offender treatment courses, showing good behavior behind bars, and expressing remorse for his crimes, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a transcript.
An unidentified victim of Funston’s disagreed, telling the outlet that Funston is “one sick individual.”
“What if he gets out and and tries to find his old victims and wants to kill us?” the victim added.
Officials said Funston lured children younger than 7 years old using candy and frequently threatening violence against them. In at least one attack, he used a Barbie doll to kidnap and sexually assault a victim, according to prosecutors.
The Daily Caller contacted Gire’s office, who did not immediately comment on the case.
