CA Republicans question child molester's parole

(The Center Square) – State Senate Republicans in California sent a letter Thursday to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, asking him to reverse a state Board of Parole Hearings decision that they said let a convicted child molester walk free. The letter follows a parole hearing earlier this month in which the California Board of Parole Hearings granted parole to David Allen Funston, who Senate Republicans said in a statement and in their letter to the governor was a serial child predator who kidnapped and sexually assaulted children. The letter was signed by Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, and Sens. Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Lancaster; Megan Dahle, R-Redding; Marie Alvarado-Gil, R-Modesto; Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield; Kelly Seyarto, R-Murietta; Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, and Steven Choi, R-Irvine. Republican lawmakers are also calling on the governor to remove the board members who granted Funston parole and replace them with members who value public safety