By Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is throwing his weight behind legislation to close what he argues is a dangerous gap in California’s elder parole law.
Hochman announced last week his support for AB 2727, bipartisan legislation authored by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D-Elk Grove), which would raise the elder parole eligibility threshold for the most serious violent sex offenders from age 50 with 20 years served to age 65 with 25 years of continuous incarceration.
The bill also requires all sex offenders granted elder parole — including those serving life sentences — to be screened under the Sexually Violent Predator Act before release, closing a loophole that current law leaves wide open.
“Violent sex offenders and child sex predators should not be released into our communities to retraumatize victims and put our children at risk,” Hochman said. “Victims who face unimaginable trauma from these heinous crimes are often caught off guard when their abuser is released under elder parole laws before their sentence is served. This is unjust, unsafe and must change today.”
Hochman’s support of the bill comes after David Allen Funston, 64 — convicted in 1999 on 16 counts for terrorizing the Sacramento area in the mid-1990s, specifically targeting children under seven years old, and sentenced to three life terms — was approved for release by California’s Board of Parole last February. Governor Gavin Newsom then referred the case back for review, and the board reaffirmed its decision.
On the morning Funston was scheduled to walk out, Placer County issued a new arrest warrant for a 1996 cold case, and he was transferred directly into law enforcement custody rather than being released. He remains behind bars on the outstanding warrant.
One of Funston’s victims, identified only as Amelia, made clear what’s at stake for survivors. “I don’t believe that people like that change,” she said after learning of the parole board’s decision. She described lasting trauma and difficulty conceiving, saying of Funston: “If he gets out, who knows if he’ll do it again?”
According to a 25-year California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation longitudinal study published in the journal Sexual Abuse, individuals who committed extra-familial child molestation remained at elevated risk levels well into their 40s — declining more slowly than any other category of sex offender.
AB 2727 has bipartisan support and is backed by the California District Attorneys Association. It comes amid a broader shift in the DA’s office under Hochman, who replaced George Gascón following a recall election.
Under Gascón, the elder parole loophole went unaddressed. Hochman called on the legislature to pass the bill and the governor to sign it without delay.
