Sacramento Parole Board Reverses Decision on Serial Child Predator Gregory Vogelsang

By Lance The PI  |  CA PI License #27617  |  June 27, 2026  |  Sacramento Crime

The California Board of Parole Hearings has officially rescinded its grant of elderly parole for Gregory Lee Vogelsang, a convicted sexually violent predator sentenced to 355 years to life for molesting six boys in the Citrus Heights area of Sacramento County. The rescission was confirmed on June 26, 2026 by a spokesperson for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation — ending months of community outrage, legislative pressure, and legal battles over whether Vogelsang would walk free after serving just 27 years of his sentence.

Gregory Lee Vogelsang | Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office

Who Is Gregory Vogelsang?

Between 1995 and 1997, Vogelsang kidnapped and sexually assaulted at least six boys between the ages of 5 and 11 in the greater Sacramento area. In 1999, he was convicted on approximately 30 counts of kidnapping and sex crimes and sentenced to 355 years to life in state prison. He has been incarcerated at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla.

Psychological evaluations conducted during his incarceration documented that Vogelsang acknowledged he remained primarily sexually attracted to boys between the ages of 5 and 11. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office classified him as a sexually violent predator — a classification that remained in place even as the parole board preliminarily approved his release.

How Did a 355-Year Prisoner Get Granted Parole?

California’s Elderly Parole Program allows inmates aged 50 or older who have served at least 20 consecutive years to receive a special parole suitability hearing — regardless of the severity of their crimes. The Board of Parole Hearings had already found Vogelsang unsuitable for release in both 2022 and 2024. But on November 4, 2025, a small panel preliminarily granted him elderly parole. He was 57 years old.

The case was then referred to Governor Gavin Newsom’s office for review, which sent it back to the full board for a larger en banc hearing.

Community and Legislative Backlash

In March 2026, the Board held a full en banc review in Sacramento that drew a large crowd of community members, law enforcement officials, and state legislators demanding the parole be reversed. A rally outside the California Department of Rehabilitation building drew speakers from across the political spectrum.

Former Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert addressed the crowd, calling on the board to rescind the grant and urging the legislature and governor to prioritize public safety over leniency. Assemblymember Josh Hoover, whose district includes Citrus Heights, pushed hard for denial and called for sweeping reform of the elderly parole program. State Senator Roger Niello of Fair Oaks and Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil both delivered formal letters to the board urging rescission, citing the 80% public risk rating documented in Vogelsang’s prison evaluations.

Assemblymember David Tangipa, whose Fresno-area district was where Vogelsang had planned to live if released, put it bluntly after the March hearing: “We have temporarily stopped the early release of serial child predator Gregory Vogelsang into Fresno. This is a win, but the fight is far from over.”

Parole Officially Rescinded — June 26, 2026

On June 26, 2026, the Board of Parole Hearings held Vogelsang’s formal rescission hearing. CDCR spokesperson Kyle Buis confirmed the outcome: “On June 26, 2026, Gregory L. Vogelsang’s grant of parole was rescinded at his rescission hearing.” He is staying behind bars. The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office confirmed the decision on social media the same day.

The Bigger Problem: California’s Elderly Parole System

Vogelsang’s case is not an isolated incident. Two other convicted child molesters were simultaneously working the same system. David Allen Funston, convicted of kidnapping and molesting multiple children, was also granted elderly parole before pending new charges in Placer County kept him locked up. Israel Ceja of Yolo County, serving 139 years for child rape, also had a parole decision under review around the same period.

Assemblymember Hoover summarized the reform needed plainly: “There’s a lot that needs to be fixed here. We need to reform the elderly parole program to exclude the most violent sexual crimes and many of the other serious crimes as well.” State data shows the Board grants parole to fewer than 11% of eligible inmates, and the re-offense rate for elderly parole releases is reported at 1.8% — with officials noting none of those re-offenses involved sex crimes. But as community members argued at the March rally, when it comes to crimes against children, 1.8% is not zero.

Legislative proposals to reform the Elderly Parole Program and exclude the most violent offenders are currently moving through Sacramento. Follow Lance The PI News for continued coverage of this story and related developments in Sacramento true crime and criminal justice.