By Sara Beth Williams–
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced that elderly parole has been rescinded for a convicted child sex molester, who will now remain behind bars.
Gregory Vogelsang, 57, was originally granted elderly parole in November 2025. The Elderly Parole Program laws allowed him to be eligible for release.
Following public outcry, a parole review hearing was held on March 18, where the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Board of Parole Hearings voted to refer the grant of parole for to a rescission hearing.
During the rescission hearing, held almost five months later, Vogelsang’s elderly parole was rescinded.
“We thank our community for the overwhelming response to our call to action. Hundreds of community members showed up, emailed, and called the Board of Parole in opposition of release—they put people before predators, public safety above politics and children before criminals who preyed upon the most vulnerable,” the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office said in a statement on social media.
The 57-year-old convicted sex offender, sentenced to 355 years in prison for crimes involving children, served 27 years of his sentence. The DA’s office called the servitude “a fraction” of his original sentence.
Several county officials spoke out against the decision to parole Vogelsang and other violent offenders, including Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper, and Assemblymember Josh Hoover. News reports indicate Gov. Gavin Newsom requested a review of the original decision, prompting the executive board to reconsider the case in March.
Prior to the hearing’s proceedings in March, Hoover spoke at a rally downtown in opposition to the release of violent sexual offenders. Community members, including survivors of sexual abuse, the deputy district attorney, and other officials, gathered in the morning to speak out against releasing Vogelsang.
The hearing reviewed multiple cases alongside Vogelsang’s, and board members heard public comment from multiple community members both for and against each parole candidate. Evan Franzel, with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Freedom Project, spoke remotely through a video call as the only one in favor of releasing Vogelsang.
Vogelsang was convicted in 1999 of molesting at least six young boys between the ages of five and eleven in Citrus Heights during the 1990s. He was known to build trust with parents and lure children into his vehicle under pretenses, such as helping pick out a gift, then assault them at his residence.
During the investigation, deputies found boys’ underwear in his possession, which he admitted belonged to his victims. He was convicted of numerous counts of kidnapping, forcible lewd acts on children, and other related charges, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
Vogelsang is scheduled for another suitability hearing in 120 days. The DA’s office said it will continue to fight against Vogelsang’s early release and will update the public on any future parole hearings.
“Additionally, we are working with Assemblywoman Stephanie Nguyen to pass Assembly Bill 2727, to help us prevent child predators from getting released,” the DA’s office said.
Hoover wrote to constituents in March outlining several other pieces of legislation currently in the works that propose changes to parole board operations, including AB 2342, which would allow the governor to reverse parole decisions involving violent felonies, and SB 906, introduced by Senator Brian Jones, which would require parole board votes to be made public.
Hoover is also co-authoring AB 2570 with Assemblymember Tom Lackey, which would raise the minimum age for elderly parole eligibility from 50 to 65. Another measure, SB 1278, authored with Senator Roger Niello, would exclude certain serious crimes, including sex offenses, from elderly parole eligibility.
Convicted criminals may be eligible for elderly parole after being incarcerated at least 20 years and reaching 50 years of age or being incarcerated at least 25 years and reaching 60 years of age, the Board of Parole Hearings states.
Related: Parole delayed for sex offender tied to Citrus Heights crimes – Citrus Heights Sentinel
