Kentucky police make arrest in 2013 assault case
Norman Starner was booked at the Allen County Detention Center on Thursday and charged with sexual abuse in the first degree.
Officials said that the case was reviewed and investigated, and an arrest warrant was obtained.
Starner was still in jail on Sunday. His bond is set at $25,000.
In a post on Facebook, the task force recognized the victim’s courage in speaking out so many years later.
“It takes tremendous strength to revisit a traumatic experience and trust law enforcement with that information,” said the task force. “Her willingness to speak up allowed this case to be reviewed again.”
The task force said it will continue to review older cases.
“Time does not erase what happened to a victim, and it does not make their voice any less important,” said the task force. “Every victim deserves to be heard, every case deserves a fair investigation, and when the evidence supports it, every victim deserves the opportunity to seek justice.”
Allegations have not been proven in court.
They approved releasing two sexually-violent predators serving life sentences. They just got booted from Calif.’s parole board.
The Senate Rules Committee allowed the appointments to expire without holding public confirmation votes.
Driving the news: Gov. Gavin Newsom reappointed Cassady and Kozel in August 2025, but the appointments required Senate confirmation within one year.
- The Senate Rules Committee, chaired by Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, held a May confirmation hearing for five other parole commissioners but did not place Cassady or Kozel on the agenda.
- The five commissioners who received hearings were William Muniz, Michael Ruff, Rosalind Sargent-Burns, Mary Thornton and Jack Weiss.
- By allowing the deadline to pass without a hearing or vote, Senate leaders effectively ended Cassady’s and Kozel’s service without requiring lawmakers to publicly approve or reject them.
- Cassady has since retired. Kozel returned to her former staff position as a senior supervising psychologist with the parole board.
The backstory: Cassady and Kozel separately participated in decisions finding David Funston and Gregory Vogelsang suitable for parole.
- Both men were serving life sentences for kidnapping and sexually abusing children in the Sacramento area during the 1990s. They qualified for consideration through California’s Elderly Parole Program, which generally applies to qualifying prisoners who are at least 50 and have served 20 continuous years.
- Funston was convicted in 1999 of crimes including kidnapping and lewd acts against children under 14. A parole panel found him suitable for release in September 2025.
- Newsom asked the full parole board to reconsider the decision, but commissioners upheld it in February. Funston was scheduled for release before authorities transferred him to Placer County custody to face new criminal charges.
- Vogelsang, who was sentenced to 355 years to life for nearly 30 counts involving the kidnapping and sexual abuse of children, also received a parole grant. The board later rescinded that decision.
- Both men remain incarcerated.
What they’re saying: Limón did not publicly explain why the committee declined to consider the two commissioners.
- During the hearing for the other five appointees, Limón referenced recent high-profile cases and said lawmakers had to balance public confidence with prisoners’ constitutional and civil rights.
- Cassady said commissioners should have received public hearings where they could answer lawmakers’ questions and explain their decisions.
- “Whether it was self-interested politics or finally waking up to the fact that the woke ways of favoring criminals over innocent victims is simply wrong, the decision to not confirm Cassady and Kozel is a wise one given their track record,” Senator GOP Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) said.
- “Abuse of vulnerable children must never be tolerated. The removal of these two Parole Commissioners sends a message to the rest of the Board – your job is to protect the public’s safety, it is not to play woke politics by releasing dangerous predators,” said Assembly GOP Leader Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare).
The big picture: California’s 21 parole commissioners are appointed by the governor to staggered three-year terms and must be confirmed by the Senate.
- Commissioners conduct parole-suitability hearings and determine whether eligible prisoners would pose an unreasonable public-safety risk if released under state supervision.
- The controversy surrounding Funston and Vogelsang has also prompted lawmakers to propose greater transparency for parole-board deliberations and tighter eligibility rules for life-sentenced sex offenders seeking elderly parole.
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