Folsom lawmaker rallies against early release of convicted child molester

Folsom Assemblyman Josh Hoover is part of a chorus of lawmakers and community members who are speaking out against the early release of a convicted child sexual predator, and those voices have apparently been heard. Convicted child molester Gregory Vogelsang will remain in prison for the next several months after state parole officials opted to re-evaluate his case. Hoover held a rally and press conference on Wednesday, March 18, in Sacramento over the controversial early release of Vogelsang. The event preceded a pivotal hearing by the Board of Parole Hearings after Vogelsang was granted early release for his heinous crimes. Vogelsang was sentenced to 355 years in prison for molesting at least six boys between the ages of 5 and 11 in the Citrus Heights area but was granted early parole under the "elderly release" program. Vogelsang is 57 years old and has served 27 years of that 355-year sentence. The elderly release program applies to people who are 50 years and older and have served at least 20 years of their sentence. Investigators determined that between 1995 and 1997, Vogelsang used grooming tactics to lure children and gain trust with their parents, inviting them to sleepovers and other social outings, and then later sexually abusing them. Some of the abuse cases lasted for years. Vogelsang's case was up for review by a larger parole board at 9 a.m. March 18. Before the review, Assemblyman Hoover is hosted a rally and press conference and urged the public to attend or contact the parole board to oppose Vogelsang's release. In response to outrage over this case, Hoover has partnered with Republican lawmakers to propose several bills meant to address this issue in the future: AB2343 (Hoover) would give the governor authority to reverse the Board of Parole Hearings' decision to grant parole in cases involving violent felonies. Currently, the governor only has that power in murder cases. AB2570 (Hoover with Assemblyman Tom Lackey) would increase the eligibility age for the Elderly Parole Program from 50 to 65. SB1278 (Hoover with Senator Roger Niello) seeks to fix the Elderly Parole Program by excluding serious crimes from early release, including sex offenses. SB906 (Senator Brian Jones) would make the votes of the Board of Parole hearings public. In a statement, Hoover said changes must be made in the law to ensure violent criminals like Vogelsang are not given the chance to prey on victims again. "We must put a stop to the release of violent predators back into our community," said Hoover. "If you want to make your voice heard on this important issue, I encourage you to join me in person this Wednesday." Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper, along with Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho also recently expressed outrage and disbelief over the early release of Vogelsang. The pair held a news conference on March 12 blasting the parole board's decision. "You don't rehabilitate sex offenders. Mr. Vogelsang belongs in prison for the rest of his life," Cooper said. Cooper and Ho said psychological evaluations of Vogelsang documented he is still sexually attracted to young boys. Ho said even though Vogelsang poses a much larger risk to the community than most other sexual offenders, the Board of Parole still opted to grant him early release. "The parole board is at it again. … This inmate will molest again. And yet this parole board is letting him out," said Ho. During Wednesday's hearing, community members, a parent of one of Vogelsang's victims and many others passionately spoke out over the decision to grant Vogelsang early release. According to KCRA-TV, during the hearing the board referred the grant of parole for Vogelsang to a rescission hearing. According to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website, a rescission hearing is scheduled 4-6 months after the Executive Board meeting: "The purpose of a rescission hearing is to evaluate new information or a fundamental error committed by the granting panel that may indicate that a grant of parole was improper," said the CDCR website. The rescission hearing is typically held between three people: two commissioners and a deputy commissioner. Two scenarios could occur as a result of the rescission hearing: "If the hearing panel determines that there is no good cause to rescind or postpone the grant then the incarcerated person will be processed for release by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Alternatively, if the hearing panel does find good cause to rescind the grant, the offender will not be released and a new parole hearing will be scheduled within a few months," said the CDCR. In the meantime, Hoover and his colleagues plan to pursue their legislation in an attempt to prevent this type of case from occurring again.