SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. (FOX26) — The California Board of Parole Hearings has granted elderly parole to a convicted child molester who was sentenced to more than 350 years in prison for sexually abusing children in Citrus Heights.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office says 57-year-old Gregory Vogelsang had previously been convicted of molesting several young boys and was classified as a sexually violent predator.
Investigators say that between 1995 and 1997, Vogelsang molested at least six boys between the ages of 5 and 11.
Authorities say he used grooming tactics to gain access to the children by building trust with their parents, inviting the boys to sleepovers, buying them gifts and taking them on outings before abusing that trust.
Elderly parole granted to convicted child molester in Sacramento County. (Courtesy: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office)
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In one case, a child told investigators Vogelsang convinced him to get into his vehicle under the pretense of helping pick out a gift.
The child was then driven to a residence and repeatedly assaulted despite crying and asking him to stop.
Another victim reportedly spent the night at Vogelsang’s home nearly every weekend for several years because he was friends with Vogelsang’s family.
Authorities say the abuse happened repeatedly during those visits.
During the investigation, deputies said they found boys’ underwear in Vogelsang’s possession.
According to investigators, Vogelsang admitted the items belonged to his victims and said he kept them for sexual stimulation.
Psychological evaluations later documented that Vogelsang acknowledged he remained primarily sexually attracted to boys between the ages of 5 and 11.
Officials also said he admitted that as recently as 2020 he was still masturbating to fantasies involving young boys.
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Despite evaluations finding Vogelsang posed a greater risk to the public than 80% of other sexual offenders, the parole board granted him elderly parole.
