Child predator ready to walk arrested on surprise warrant hours before release

Chuck Todd's doppelganger

California's soft-on-crime circus just took another wild turn, but this time, a last-minute intervention stopped the show before the worst act.

David Allen Funston, 64, a convicted child predator who spent 25 years locked up for sexual abuse of children, was all set to walk free under the state's Elderly Parole Program. The unelected parole board gave him the green light, Gov. Gavin Newsom grumbled about it but couldn't stop it, and the whole thing sparked massive outrage.

But then Placer County stepped in with a new arrest warrant and fresh charges tied to the original 1996 crimes in Roseville. CDCR confirmed that around 7:30 a.m., Funston was handed over to authorities instead of being released as planned.

Funston had been granted parole suitability on Tuesday and was due out later this week. He was originally sentenced in 1999 to life with the possibility of parole for kidnapping and lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, among other horrors involving multiple victims. Prosecutors say he kidnapped and molested a child back in 1996.

The mugshot of this Sacramento County monster tells the story: convicted in 1999 on multiple counts of kidnapping and child molestation. He got three life terms originally, but California's Elderly Parole Program kicked in once he hit the age and time requirements. He became eligible at 50 after 20 straight years inside.

The parole board found him suitable back on Sept. 24, 2025. Newsom kicked it back for an en banc review on Jan. 9, 2026. On Feb. 18, 2026, the board doubled down and reaffirmed parole.Placer County DA refiled charges within the statute of limitations, and boom, warrant issued. That halted the release cold.

California GOP Chair Corrin Rankin didn't hold back: "This last-minute warrant doesn’t fix the problem — it exposes it. California Democrats, led by Gavin Newsom, built a parole system that was ready and willing to release a violent child predator back into our community. Newsom signed the laws that created these loopholes, appointed the people who uphold them, and the Democratic majority in the legislature continues to prioritize the well-being of criminals over victims," Rankin said.

The former prosecutor who helped nail Funston originally chimed in too: "God bless Placer County DA for charging David Funston for crimes committed by this serial child predator," the former prosecutor said. "Let’s remember that @CAgovernor signed the law allowing this to happen. But Placer DA stepped in to stop this insanity."

For the victims, this hits hard and personal. One victim, Amelia, spoke out after the initial parole approval: "I’m disgusted with the fact that they would even believe anything that he would happen to say," Amelia told Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle." "I don’t believe that people like that change."She detailed the lifelong damage: "I would love to have a child, and this is what this man took from me. And I feel like, personally, that’s very hurtful," she said. "I have trauma. I don't trust anybody. I don't trust anything."

And the fear if he ever got out: "If he gets out, who knows if he'll do it again?" Amelia said. "I was told that he fantasizes still about children . . .  why would you let this man out? When he gets out, how do you not know if he will continue?"

Funston claimed to the board he was "disgusted and ashamed" of his past and "truly sorry" for the harm. Amelia wasn't buying it, and statistics regarding recidivism doesn't suggest that he won't re-offend. And besides, his incarceration was intended for punishment and to keep the community safe from this low-life.

Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper and DA Thien Ho had already sounded the alarm, calling him an ongoing danger and pushing hard to block the release.

It's not clear yet when Funston will appear in Placer County court.

The warrant may have stopped this particular predator from hitting the streets today, but it lays bare the rotten core of California's parole setup: laws and appointees that put monsters first and victims last. The outrage isn't going away anytime soon.

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