Serial Child Rapist Released from Prison, Back in Jail
Notorious California sexual predator David Funston (see this post) was released on parole yesterday under the state’s misguided “elderly” parole law and promptly taken into custody on new charges for an old crime. He is now in Placer County Jail. See this story by Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee and this story by Stepheny Price at Fox News.
Funston committed his crimes in an area northeast of Sacramento that includes parts of Sacramento and Placer Counties. After he received three consecutive life sentences in the Sacramento case, the Placer County District Attorney decided not to pursue the case in that county. The District Attorney Office’s statement is copied below.
This prompt action may prevent the unjust release of a predator in this case, but the case illustrates the urgent need for the California Legislature to repair its errors committed over the last decade. The prison overcrowding crisis and the Covid pandemic are long behind us, and measures adopted to deal with them should have had sunset dates. Basic justice requires long terms for the most egregious crimes. Some criminals, including Funston, should never walk free again.
Placer County District Attorney’s Officeย
๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ง ๐พ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฉ ๐ผ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐ก๐๐จ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ก๐ก๐๐ฃ ๐๐ช๐ฃ๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฃROSEVILLE, Calif. โ The Placer County District Attorneyโs Office has filed charges against David Allen Funston, age 64, for violating Penal Code section 288(a), lewd and lascivious acts upon a child. A no-bail warrant was issued, and the defendant is now in custody in the Placer County jail.The charges stem from the sexual assault of a young child in Roseville in 1996. At the time of the original investigation and prosecution, the defendant was convicted in Sacramento County and sentenced to three life terms in prison for his crimes. In the interest of justice, and because these life sentences ensured the defendant would be removed from society, the Placer County District Attorneyโs Office did not pursue a separate prosecution at that time.However, due to recent developments under Californiaโs elder parole program, the defendant has been released from CDCR, effectively overturning the permanence of the prior life sentences. As the interests of justice have changed with recent legislation and parole board decisions, our community safety is no longer assured. The Placer County District Attorneyโs Office has refiled the 1996 charges within the statute of limitations to hold the defendant accountable for the crimes he committed in Placer County.โTo be clear, this individual was previously sentenced to multiple life terms for extremely heinous crimes,โ said Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire. โHowever, subsequent changes in state law and recent parole board failures have altered the practical effect of those life sentences for the victims and communities at large. 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.โThe defendant is scheduled to be arraigned early next week in the Placer County Superior Court.
The Placer County District Attorneyโs Office remains committed to protecting children, enforcing the law, and pursuing accountability to the greatest extent the law allows.
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