Sex Offender Granted Early Parole Plans Release in Fresno

A man sentenced to 355 years in state prison and another serving multiple life terms for kidnapping and molesting children were both headed to Fresno after winning early parole under a California state program, according to parole board hearing transcripts obtained by FOX26 News.

The two men are Gregory Lee Vogelsang, 57, and David Allen Funston, 64, both serial child sex offenders who were housed at the California Institution for Men in Chino and both requested Fresno as their release destination.

Funston was convicted in 1999 in Sacramento County of kidnapping and molesting seven children, with his youngest victim just three years old. He lured children with candy and toys and was caught after a neighbor recorded his license plate and called police. A sentencing judge described him as "the monster parents fear the most," and he received a sentence of life with the possibility of parole plus three consecutive 25-years-to-life terms. Vogelsang was sentenced to 355 years in the 1990s for nearly 30 counts of kidnapping and sex crimes against children between the ages of 5 and 11.

Both qualified under California's Elderly Parole Program, which allows inmates 50 or older who have served at least 20 consecutive years to receive a specialized parole suitability hearing. Under current law, parole commissioners cannot deny parole based solely on the facts of the crime, a restriction critics say creates dangerous loopholes for sex offenders. The eligibility age was lowered to 50 under legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.

The Board of Parole Hearings granted Funston parole suitability on September 24-26, 2025, despite a denial as recently as May 2022. Hearing transcripts reveal he expressed continued sexual fantasies toward children at the proceedings. Newsom referred the case back to the full board on January 9, 2026 for en banc review, but on February 18, 2026, the full panel reaffirmed the grant. On February 26, CDCR turned Funston over to local law enforcement after a warrant was issued for his arrest. His final release destination remained unclear at the time of reporting. Vogelsang was granted parole on November 4, 2025, after 27 years in prison, despite a formal risk assessment rating his likelihood of future crimes as "above average."

Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp reacted sharply, saying "people are getting out all over the place" under the new laws. Former Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who prosecuted Funston's 1999 case, called it "the worst serial child predator case I've ever seen," adding: "We made promises to these families, to these children." Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper called for the parole board's outright removal: "The parole board is letting us down; they are horrible. After this case and the Funston case, they need to be gone, period."

A Funston victim identified only as Turrina, who was 7 when he abused her, testified before the California Assembly in support of reforming the Elderly Parole Program.

Both men, once released, would be placed on the state sex offender registry and subject to GPS ankle monitoring and mandated treatment under sex-offense-focused supervision by CDCR parole agents. Three bills were advancing in the California Legislature in response. Democratic Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen's AB 2727 would raise the parole eligibility age from 50 to 65 for violent sex offenders and require a Department of State Hospitals screening. Republican Assemblymen Tom Lackey of Palmdale and Hoover of Folsom introduced AB 2570, setting the same 65-year threshold. SB-286 would remove those convicted of rape, sodomy, or lewd acts with a child from the program entirely, retroactive to January 1, 2026, potentially closing the provision that freed both men.