The California Board of Parole Hearings on Wednesday voted to refer its grant of elderly parole for Gregory Vogelsang, 57, to a rescission hearing following an en banc review in Sacramento that drew strong opposition from community members and lawmakers.
Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez said, “California! When will you wake up?!” and added, “We should be standing with survivors! Not retraumatizing them.”
The hearing took place at Capitol Centre, where a larger group of the parole board reviewed its earlier decision to grant Vogelsang parole and heard public comment.
The board previously granted elderly parole to Vogelsang, who was sentenced to more than 350 years in prison for crimes committed against children in Citrus Heights.
Assemblyman Josh Hoover said Vogelsang was convicted of dozens of counts of child molestation and kidnapping involving young boys and said he should not be released back into the community.
Before the hearing, lawmakers and advocates held a rally outside the building at 1515 K St. opposing the release and announcing proposed legislation aimed at stopping similar cases.
Hoover said the releases were “a policy choice that are putting the interests of criminals over the interests of victims and the interest of public safety.”
Anne Marie Schubert, a former Sacramento County district attorney, said, “I ask our legislature and our governor to step up and do what’s best for our citizens rather than criminals.”
During the hearing, speakers urged the board to reverse its decision and described the long-term impact of sexual violence.
Justin Penman, a member of the public who spoke during the hearing, said, “This hearing should not be happening. In fact, the discussion of whether or not to grant parole to any pedophile who raped any child should not be happening.”
Penman said Vogelsang escalated from stealing photos of children to kidnapping and raping victims, including his own son.
Christy Calderon, who said she worked as a correctional officer, said Vogelsang was convicted of 27 counts involving young boys and warned that behavior in prison should not be mistaken for rehabilitation.
Vogelsang is one of several recent cases in which people convicted of serious sexual crimes have been approved or recommended for release by California’s parole board.
Vogelsang, 57, was convicted of molesting at least six boys ages 5 to 11 in Citrus Heights. He was sentenced to 355 years to life and has served about 27 years. A parole board has approved his release, pending final review.
David Allen Funston, 64, was convicted of kidnapping and molesting multiple children in Sacramento County. He was sentenced to multiple life terms and has served about 27 years. Although he was approved for parole, his release was blocked after new charges were filed.
Israel Ceja, 63, was convicted in Yolo County of multiple counts of child rape. He was sentenced to 139 years in prison and has served about 26 years. A parole board has recommended his release, but the decision is not final and remains under review.
Lawmakers said the cases are driving new legislative proposals aimed at changing California’s elderly parole system.
Proposals would give the governor authority to overturn parole decisions in violent felony cases, raise the eligibility age from 50 to 65, exclude serious and sex offenses from elderly parole and require parole board votes to be made public.
“The governor has made a lot of comments about how he really has no ability to change the results of what is happening,” Hoover said. “But the reality is that he is the one that signed the bills that created the environment to make this possible. And he is the one that appointed the members of this parole board.”
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the board referred Vogelsang’s case to a rescission hearing to evaluate whether a fundamental error was made in granting parole.
A rescission hearing is expected to take place in about four to six months.
The department said Vogelsang was received from Sacramento County on Sept. 27, 1999, and had previously been denied parole at hearings in 2022 and 2024.
State officials said parole commissioners must determine whether an individual currently poses an unreasonable risk to public safety using risk assessment tools and other factors.
The department also said the recidivism rate for people released after an elderly parole hearing is 1.8% for any conviction and that none of those re-convictions involved sex offenses.
Some speakers said that statistic did not address their concerns.
“1.8% is not zero,” a member of the public said who spoke during the hearing.
“You guys threw out some pretty low numbers, but it’s not zero,” added another speaker.
“What about his young victims?” another public commenter said. “Where is their parole and release from the horror and violence this animal inflicted on them?”
The decision means Vogelsang will remain in custody while the case undergoes further review.
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