Child rapist Funston appears before Placer judge after elderly parole, re-arrest
Days after last-minute lewd acts charges kept convicted child rapist David Allen Funston from walking free, the former North Highlands resident was arraigned Monday in Roseville.
A Placer County judge continued the case to next Monday, March 9.
Funston, 64, spoke only once during the brief appearance. When asked whether he understood his rights and agreed to a one-week delay to retain counsel, he responded, “yes, ma’am.”
Placer County District Attorney’s Office prosecutors filed new charges in a 1996 case involving a child in Roseville just as Funston was set to be released from the California Institution for Men in Chino. On Thursday, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials instead turned him over to Placer County authorities.
Placer County prosecutors announced later that day that Funston was arrested on suspicion of child sexual assault in the 1996 case. They said the newly filed charges fall within California’s statute of limitations. Under state law, prosecution for sex crimes against minors can begin any time before the victim’s 40th birthday.
“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,” Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire said in a statement announcing the filing.
Funston faces up to eight years in prison if convicted of the new charge. Gire, speaking to reporters Monday after the brief afternoon hearing, said the alleged victim was “under 10 years old” at the time, and is participating with Placer authorities.
Gire said the victim’s cooperation “makes the path that much clearer” in prosecuting the case.
Funston was serving life terms with the possibility of parole for the 1995 kidnappings, rapes and sexual assaults of eight Sacramento-area children. He was sentenced in 1999 on 16 counts tied to those attacks and had served 27 years when the state Board of Parole Hearings found him suitable for release in September.
The board reaffirmed that decision in February, setting the stage for his planned release under California’s Elderly Parole Program.
Funston qualified for a parole hearing under the statutory Elderly Parole Program, which allows certain inmates age 50 or older who have served at least 20 years of continuous incarceration to be considered for release.
Monday’s hearing in Placer County Superior Court capped a whirlwind week that began with a Los Angeles Times report on Funston’s impending release. That report prompted vocal condemnation from Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper, state prosecutors and victims’ rights groups, as well as renewed scrutiny of California’s elderly parole process.
Investigators in 1996 were working the Placer County case, the DA’s Office said. Prosecutors did not file separate charges against Funston at the time because, officials said Thursday, they believed his existing life sentences ensured he would remain imprisoned.
Gire on Monday said his office learned of the parole board’s final decision Feb. 20 — two days after the board reaffirmed its decision to free Funston.
“We did what we needed to do to find if this case was viable,” Gire said. “We were evaluating the case that week, contacting the people we needed to contact — it all happened very quickly.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 2:05 PM.
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