Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper erupted in anger this week after it was confirmed that convicted serial child molester David Allen Funston, once described in court as “the monster parents fear most,” has been approved for parole under California’s controversial Elderly Parole Program.
Funston, 64, was convicted in 1999 of kidnapping and molesting young children in Sacramento County in the mid-1990s.
A judge at sentencing labeled him a threat to society, and he received three consecutive 25-to-life terms, plus additional time, effectively a life sentence, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
But under California’s elderly parole law, which allows inmates over age 50 who have served at least 20 years to be considered for release, Funston was deemed “suitable for parole.”
According to KTLA:
Funston was eligible for a parole suitability hearing under the Elderly Parole Program because he was not on death row nor was he sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Depending on an inmate’s sentence, their first Elderly Parole Program hearing is scheduled after they have been incarcerated at least 20 continuous years and reached the age of 50. Inmates are also eligible for the Elderly Parole Program if they were incarcerated for 25 continuous years and reached the age of 60.
Funston, as of 2026, is 64 years old and has served 27 years in prison, thus qualifying him for the latter category, as he does not have a sentence that makes him ineligible for the chance to be paroled.
During a press conference, Sheriff Cooper blasted the parole board and Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration for allowing such a predator to be reconsidered for release under a program that is sick and broken.
Hellbound and Down 