Parole Board Halts Release of Convicted Child Predator Gregory Vogelsang to Fresno

Gregory Vogelsang, the 57-year-old convicted sexually violent predator who told commissioners he planned to live in transitional housing in Fresno, will remain in state custody for at least another four to six months after California's Board of Parole Hearings voted Wednesday to send his parole grant to a rescission hearing.

Vogelsang was sentenced to 355 years in prison for molesting at least six boys between the ages of 5 and 11 in Citrus Heights between 1995 and 1997. After serving 27 years, he was granted elderly parole in November 2025. The board's decision triggered immediate public backlash and drew more than 40 people to an en banc hearing in Sacramento, where commissioners heard testimony from victims' family members, law enforcement officials, and state legislators before reconsidering the release.

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, "the purpose of a rescission hearing is to evaluate if a fundamental error was committed by the granting panel that may indicate that a grant of parole was improper." A final decision on Vogelsang's case could come as early as July, officials said Wednesday. The board retains the option to uphold, reverse, or revisit its prior decision.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, which had detailed Vogelsang's crimes publicly, noted that investigators found he groomed victims by building trust with parents, inviting boys to sleepovers, buying them gifts, and taking them on outings. In one documented case, a child reported that Vogelsang lured him into a vehicle under the pretense of picking out a gift, then drove him to a residence where he was repeatedly assaulted. Despite a risk assessment finding that Vogelsang posed a greater danger to the public than 80% of other sexual offenders, the board had initially approved his release under the state's elderly parole program.

The mother of one of Vogelsang's victims addressed the board directly. "I beg the parole board, to please rescind his parole, and don't put this predator on the streets," she said. "It is a life-long trauma that we have to deal with, and no other children or families should have to deal with this."

Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper was sharply critical of the parole system itself. "The decision is no longer made in a courtroom. It is made by the Board of Parole Hearings. This is an appointed board. They are not elected, not accountable to the public, and they were not involved in investigating or trying these cases. Yet they can override the outcome of a sentence," Cooper said in a post on X.

Assemblymember Josh Hoover, a Republican representing Folsom whose district includes Citrus Heights, rallied outside the California Department of Rehabilitation building alongside former Sacramento law enforcement members as members of the public carried signs reading "Protect our Kids" and "Keep Predators Behind Bars." Hoover called on the public to pressure state lawmakers and the governor. "We cannot allow individuals that have been sentenced to 355 years to life, which is the case for Gregory Vogelsang," he said.

The case has intensified scrutiny of California's elderly parole program, particularly following the earlier release of David Allen Funston, 64, who was convicted of multiple counts of child molestation and sentenced to three life terms before being granted elderly parole and later facing new charges. Republican lawmakers have used both cases to push for replacing the Board of Parole Hearings and revising elderly parole laws. The board's executive director, meanwhile, said commissioners were following state law and had received threats in recent weeks, with the BPH leader publicly calling for civility.