A California man convicted of kidnapping and molesting eight children in the 1990s was rearrested on new charges on Thursday (February 26) — the very day he was scheduled to walk free from state prison.
David Allen Funston, 64, had been granted parole under California’s elderly parole program, triggering fierce backlash from victims, law enforcement officials, and lawmakers. According to the Placer County district attorney’s office, Funston was taken back into custody on charges stemming from a 1996 case in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a child in Roseville, California.
Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper had been among the loudest voices opposing Funston’s release. At a press conference earlier this week, Cooper described Funston as someone who targeted seven girls and one boy between the ages of three and seven in the Sacramento area in 1995 and 1996, luring them with candy, Barbie dolls, and toys before assaulting them. Funston was convicted of 16 counts of kidnapping and child molestation, and sentenced to 20 years and 8 months in prison, plus three consecutive terms of 25 years to life…