California lawmakers are moving to tighten parole rules for sex offenders following the parole suitability of two high-profile offenders last year. David Allen Funston, 67, and Gregory Lee Vogelsang, 57, both convicted of multiple sexual assaults against young children in the Sacramento area, were found suitable for parole in 2025 by the California Board of Parole Hearings under current elderly parole statutes. These laws allow felons serving life sentences to be eligible for parole if they are at least 50 years old and have served at least 20 years.
Critics, including Democratic Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen of Elk Grove, argue that 50 is too low an age for sex offenders to be considered for release, citing the severity of their crimes and concerns over public safety. Nguyen has introduced legislation to raise the earliest parole eligibility age for sex offenders with life sentences to 65. Her bill also mandates psychological evaluations through the Department of State Hospitals, which can commit individuals indefinitely if deemed “sexually violent predators.” Currently, such evaluations apply only to sex offenders not serving life sentences.
Nguyen emphasized that while rehabilitation is possible, certain offenses, such as child molestation, pose ongoing risks. “It doesn’t matter 20 years. I don’t know that you can necessarily change yourself from wanting or stopping yourself from molesting little children,” she said, noting her personal concerns as a mother.
The bill received strong bipartisan support in an Assembly Public Safety Committee meeting, passing 8-0, with lawmakers like Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey criticizing the current law as “a travesty to justice” and “absurd.” However, some civil rights and prisoner advocacy groups warn that these changes could undermine parole laws that have helped reduce California’s prison population. The debate highlights tensions between public safety concerns and efforts to reform the state’s criminal justice system.
