California Democrats confirmed the reappointment of five parole board commissioners backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom despite fiery objections from Republicans, who accused colleagues of putting violent criminals — including convicted child sex predators — ahead of victims and public safety.
Republican legislators focused the confirmation fight on several high-profile parole cases involving inmates convicted of child molestation, kidnapping and sexual assault, including David Allen Funston, Roberto Antonio Detrinidad and Gregory Lee Vogelsang.
The GOP legislators argued the board has repeatedly shown poor judgment by finding violent offenders suitable for parole under programs that allow elderly inmates and people who committed crimes at a younger age to seek early release.
“Our work to combat human trafficking and protect California’s children is actively undermined when parole commissioners entrusted with public safety prioritize sympathy for predators over their core duty to protect the public,” Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) said in a statement.
Commissioners up for reappointment Monday included William Muniz, Michael Ruff, Rosalind Sargent-Burns, Mary Thornton and Jack Weiss.
However, Democrats took the unusual step of preventing Grove from reading excerpts from Funston’s parole board hearing transcript while she was speaking Monday on the Senate floor.
Funston, 67, was sentenced to 20 years in prison plus three consecutive life terms for kidnapping and child molestation involving several children younger than 7 in the Sacramento region. He admitted to pedophilic fantasies as recently as 2021, according to KCRA.
Grove persisted in her floor comments by noting she had memorized much of the transcript and recalled Funston saying he still had sexual urges for minors and dealt with it by splashing water on his face.
“So part of Mr. Funston’s plan to reduce his urges is to simply splash water on his face, so he doesn’t sexually assault a child,” Grove said.
“There is not a person in this chamber that would want this man to be alone with their children, grandchildren or any of our constituents.”
The parole board found Funston suitable for release, but he remains in custody after Placer County prosecutors filed new charges before he could walk free.
Vogelsang, who was sentenced to 355 years to life for molesting young boys, also reportedly admitted to still fantasizing about boys.
Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) said the parole board has “lost all credibility with the public” and accused commissioners of turning the board into a “prisoners’ rights organization instead of a safeguard for victims and their families.”
Detrinidad’s case involved a violent San Francisco home invasion and rape, and prosecutors raised concerns that he had not completed sex-offender treatment before being granted parole. He claimed the encounter was consensual during his trial, according to a news report, but later admitted he lied.
“This was like my Super Bowl of crime that night,” Detrinidad reportedly said. “This was gonna be the thing that made me finally feel like a man.”
Sen. Steven Choi (R-Irvine) slammed the reappointment process, saying the “current Board of Parole Hearings has clearly demonstrated they are not doing a good job protecting children. They need to be replaced.”
Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) said families deserve to know their children are safe and accused the board of “rolling the dice with dangerous predators.”
Democrats have generally defended California’s parole process as a structured review system that weighs an inmate’s rehabilitation, risk to public safety and legal eligibility.
Senate Pro Tem Monique Limón’s office declined comment when reached Monday afternoon, saying the top Democrat in the Senate had previously made comments in a May 20 committee hearing on the need to balance rehabilitation with future risk of reoffending.
Republicans, however, said Monday’s vote shows the system needs a major overhaul, including more transparency over how commissioners vote.
Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) said all five commissioners refused to support making their votes public.
“If no accountability is going to be taken by these commissioners,” she said, “why have commissioners at all?”
