The Placer County District Attorney’s Office say the charges on David Allen Funston stemmed from a sexual assault of a young child in Roseville in 1996.
ROSEVILLE, Calif. — The Placer County District Attorney Office announced its filed charges against convicted serial child molester David Allen Funston, who was recently granted parole.
Funston, 64, is facing charges related to lewd and lascivious acts upon a child, prosecutors said.
The charges stem from a sexual assault of a young child in Roseville in 1996. Prosecutors issued a no-bail warrant for Funston’s arrest and Funston is in now custody at the Placer County Jail.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said Funston was scheduled to be released on parole Thursday, but was turned over to Placer County authorities after his arrest warrant was issued.
At the time of the original investigation and prosecution, prosecutors said Funston was already convicted in Sacramento County and sentenced to three life terms in prison.
In 1999, Funston was sentenced to 20 years and eight months in prison, along with three consecutive life sentences for kidnapping and assaulting multiple children. Prosecutors said a separate prosecution was not pursued for the current case at the time due to Funston’s prison sentence.
Funston was recently granted parole under California’s elderly parole program, which is facing scrutiny from Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Copper and California lawmakers.
Under California law, inmates who have reached the age of 50 and served 20 years in prison are eligible for the Elderly Parole Program.
A Board of Parole Hearings panel granted Funston elderly parole last September. In January, Governor Gavin Newsom requested a review of that decision.
The district attorney’s office said the 1996 charges were refiled within the statue of limitations of crimes in Placer County.
“To be clear, this individual was previously sentenced to multiple life terms for extremely heinous crimes,” Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire said in a statement. “However, 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.”
Funston is scheduled to be arraigned next week in Placer County Superior Court.
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