'Monster parents fear the most' serving 3 life sentences is granted parole, igniting widespread outrage

Convicted pedophile David Allen Funston seen in a mug shot from the California Corrections Department.

A 64-year-old man convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation is being granted parole under California's elderly parole law, a decision that has prompted widespread backlash both in the Golden State and across the nation. 

In 1999, David Allen Funston was convicted in Sacramento County of using toys and candy to lure children from the ages of 3 to 7 into his vehicle where he raped them and beat them. The heinous crimes took place in 1996 and 1997 in the suburbs of Sacramento.

Funston was slapped with three consecutive sentences of 25 years to life, plus an additional prison term. The judge who sentenced Funston described him as "the monster parents fear the most." 

"He shouldn't be breathing the same air that we're breathing at all," one victim, who was kidnapped and assaulted when she was 4, told The Los Angeles Times. "I disagree with him getting paroled out because he's a horrible person. That man is a monster."

Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper blasted the decision to grant Funston parole this week at a press conference, saying officials never informed him of the parole ruling, and that he learned about it from the media. 

"Elections are coming up," Cooper said. "This is a great question. ‘What do you stand for?' Don't talk the talk, walk the walk. Protect our children. Don't protect the perpetrator of these crimes."

Former Sacramento County D.A. Anne Marie Schubert, who prosecuted the case back in 1999, was outraged by the parole ruling. "Now he has this benefit that he can now get out of prison because our legislature decided that we should let people out early," Schubert told Fox 40. "And, in fact, he should never actually be released."

Schubert was referring to the elderly parole program, a law passed in California in 2018, according to The Los Angeles Times, that has since been amended, making it possible for a convict as young as 50 years old to be granted early parole based on the amount of time already served. A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom told the L.A. Times that he has no power to overturn the ruling, but requested that the parole board reconsider the decision.

Funston's youngest victim, who was lured away by Funston with a Barbie doll and was 3 at the time of the crime, spoke to Fox 40. "I don't think that he should be out free because he's a pedophile," said 33-year-old Emelia, who added that she feels lucky to have escaped the nightmare alive. Below, watch more from Fox 40 and hear from Emelia and a state senator who is working to have the law overturned or changed.