SACRAMENTO — California Republican leaders and a victims’ advocate demanded Tuesday that Gov. Gavin Newsom replace the Commissioners of the California Board of Parole Hearings, all of which were appointed by Newsom, who voted to grant parole to two convicted sex offenders, including a home invasion rapist and a serial child predator.
The California Republican Party (@CAGOP) launched a petition calling for action at https://cagop.org/stoppredators.
The press conference hosted by California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin (@CorrinRankin) and was joined by State Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares, Crime Victims United President Topo Padilla, and Assemblymembers David Tangipa, Tri Ta, and Jeff Gonzalez took place on the west steps of the State Capitol.
The Republicans pointed to two disturbing cases. In one, Roberto Detrinidad, who is HIV-positive, targeted a young bartender who had recently moved to San Francisco. After watching her return home from a late-night shift and go to bed in her Sacramento Street apartment, he broke into the building using a piece of plastic to open the front gate and then slipped through the second door by manipulating the interior latch. He entered her bedroom, pulled down her pajamas and underwear while she slept, and sodomized her in her own bed.
At a recent parole hearing, Detrinidad admitted planning the attack after seeing her through the window and described it as his “Super Bowl of crime.” He also confessed that he had lied at trial by claiming the victim consented. The woman later testified that she could no longer live in the apartment, required therapy, and eventually fled San Francisco.
In the second case, David Allen Funston was convicted in 1999 of kidnapping and committing lewd and lascivious acts with multiple children under the age of 14. One of his victims has spoken publicly about the lifelong trauma she suffered, including infertility and ongoing fear. Funston was cleared for parole this year under the state’s Elderly Parole Program after serving more than 25 years. He was arrested on new charges for a 1996 child kidnapping and molestation case in Placer County just hours before he was scheduled to be released.
“California families are fed up with Governor Newsom’s soft-on-crime policies that prioritize criminals over victims,” Rankin said. “His administration’s expanded early release programs and parole board, stacked with Newsom’s appointees, have created loopholes that nearly set free monsters like serial child predator David Allen Funston and are still on track to release HIV-positive home invasion rapist Roberto Detrinidad.”
“Violent child predators need to stay in our correctional facilities, not get a second chance while victims get a life sentence,” Rankin said. “Public safety is the first duty of government. If Gavin Newsom cannot or will not use his power to protect children, he has no business being our governor.”
“Hearing the news of Funston’s parole made me sick to my stomach. It made me sick thinking about the pain and suffering he inflicted on his victims, who were very young children, and sick thinking about how a monster like this could be granted parole,” Valladares said.
“If the governor can sign laws with loopholes and appoint the people who make parole decisions, then it’s his responsibility to step in and right this egregious wrong. He can start by replacing the commissioners who approved Funston’s release with ones who actually care about victims and public safety,” Valladares added.