Ashley’s Law
In February I saw a plea for help from a mother on Facebook who had reached out to her local state legislative representative asking for assistance in obtaining justice for her disabled adult daughter who had been brutally raped. This mother asked for help creating and passing a law that would hold rapists who attack disabled adults to the same sentencing standards as if their victims were children, a much stricter consequence. Her elected representative was not only dismissive of a wounded mothers plea, but was outright upset that this mother would dare make such a request of her during a legislative session, as she was “far too busy” to even think about helping out. Apparently she was far too busy wasting taxpayer money in a hypocritical farce "protecting children" against fictitious bathroom boogeymen, rather than championing a change in law that would actually protect our children. As the father of a child with Down Syndrome I could not let this wounded mother feel unheard, so I offered to help and cleared my own busy schedule. The next day Paula Dickson came to my office and described in detail what horrors had happened to her daughter Ashley and by the end of the day I had put together a detailed memo covering the state of our current rape sentencing laws, Ashley's story, and what changes should be made which I then forwarded to every legislator and media personality I knew. A few weeks later our sweet Ashley passed away and although we were all devastated we resolved to fight on.
I promise to take this fight to Washington and ensure Ashley’s Law is passed so our disabled children and siblings are protected and that our beautiful little warrior has a legacy that lasts forever. This ones for our precious Valkyrie Ashley.
MEMO
When a citizen of our state is raped and their attacker found guilty, the severity of the punishment will be determined by whether the victim was an adult or a minor. However, no substantive consideration is given as to an adult victim’s mental capacity, resulting in an inconsistent underlying philosophy as to why we justify more severe punishments for crimes against children. To address this discrepancy, it is proposed that the Utah criminal code be amended to include language that provides equal protections to adults with mental/cognitive capacity disabilities which reflect their mental age rather than physical.
Ashley Vigil was born in 1992, a healthy beautiful baby girl with thick auburn hair. Her mother Paula was young, working two jobs, and attending college when about a year later she began to notice that Ashley’s behavior was changing. It started off small - struggling to maintain eye contact, hand wringing, and rocking in her seat but as the next few years passed the symptoms grew worse, until Ashley was no longer able to stand or crawl. Then began a seemingly endless series of tests and procedures all trying to get to the bottom of what was happening, the last words Ashley ever spoke out loud were “mama” as she was being poked and prodded by her attending medical staff. After several more years little Ashley was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. Paula was told she would likely never see her 11th birthday.
But Ashley was and always has been more than her diagnosis, she is strong - a warrior through and through. Now 31 years old, Ashley communicates through her beautiful smile and a palpable aura of strength and pure goodness.
Not long ago a monster came into Ashley’s life in the form of a stepfather and conman. Initially, this man was everything they could have asked for, he seemed kind, attentive, and supportive but as time passed, he found it increasingly difficult to maintain the illusion. Ashley’s condition suddenly began to worsen as she started experiencing longer and more frequent seizures without any apparent explanation. To try and solve this mystery, Paula had surveillance cameras placed in their home to see if they could track the seizures in real-time, but what those cameras recorded was a horror beyond imagination.
Ashley was being raped by her stepfather. She couldn’t cry out for help, couldn’t tell him to stop, couldn’t protest, and couldn’t communicate what had happened. This man knew he had a defenseless victim.
Paula did everything right after finding out. She had him removed from the home, made every report she could, and did everything possible to make sure he could never hurt Ashley ever again. But the wheels of justice turn slow, and the law makes no distinction between the rape of an adult and someone like Ashley. The maximum punishment for Ashley’s attacker was paltry compared to the amount of damage he wrought upon her.
Had Ashley been the same physical age as her mental age, he would not have escaped equitable justice so brazenly.
Under current Utah law, sentencing a defendant convicted of rape is primarily dependent on who their victim was. Those laws currently provide two overly broad general classifications of victims:
(1) adults; and
(2) children.
When the victim is an adult, Utah Code (“UCA”) 76-5-402 “Rape -- Penalties”, provides a baseline minimum sentence of five years up to life (non-mandatory). If found to have caused serious bodily injury to their victim during the commission of the rape or if the defendant was younger than 18 years old and had been previously convicted of a grievous sexual offense, they may receive a sentence of 15 years up to life (non-mandatory). The maximum sentence available provides life without parole if the trier of fact finds that an adult defendant had previously been convicted of a grievous sexual offense at the time, they committed the subject rape . A court may deviate from the sentencing structure provided for in (3)(b) and enact lesser sentences of 10 years up to life (non-mandatory) or six years up to life (non-mandatory) respectively .
When the victim is a child, the sentence includes mandatory imprisonment, which is naturally more severe. Described within UCA 76-5-402.1 “Rape of a child – Penalties”, a defendant who rapes a child younger than 14 years old is guilty of a first degree felony and punishable by a prison sentence of 25 years to life or life without parole if the defendant was over 18 and the trier of fact finds that the actor caused serious bodily injury to the child or the actor had previously been convicted of a grievous sexual offense . A court could impose a shorter sentence of 15 years up to life, 10 years up to life, or six years up to life if the defendant was a first-time offender, under 21 years old at the time of the offense, and a lesser sentence would be in the interest of justice under the facts and circumstances .
Sentencing can be enhanced if the defendant is found to have targeted the victim based on factors such as age, familial status, gender, and/or disability and it is the actor’s belief or perceptions regarding those attributes that caused them to act . The enhanced penalties available effectively raise the criminal penalty for the specific act by one degree, e.g. a class A misdemeanor becomes a third-degree felony. However, when a felony conviction is levied the enhancement is slightly different, e.g. a third-degree felony increases sentencing from 0-5 years to 1-5 years, a second-degree felony from 1-15 years to 2-15 years , and a first-degree felony has no change save that the sentencing judge and the parole board must consider it an aggravating factor .
Currently, the sentencing laws for rape almost exclusively contemplate mental disability as it applies to the perpetrator, not the victim. As shown in both 76-5-402 and 76-5-402.1, the courts have discretion to reduce sentencing based on factors that are “in the interest of justice” and the mental capacity of the defendant may naturally be assumed to be a highly relevant one. It is also reasonable to assume that the purpose for having two specific sentencing laws, i.e. adults and children, is because as a society we have the common sense to understand that harming a child is more egregious than harming an adult.
The foundation for this distinction cannot reasonably be argued to stem from a simple mathematical calculous, that punishment “X” is applied to ages ranging from 0-14 and “Y” to ages 15+ simply because black letter law requires some basic justification to exist. Rather, it is rational to proffer the argument that we punish crimes against children more severely because children are inherently more easily manipulated, emotionally immature, and physically vulnerable - being unable to defend themselves, among many other factors. Yet, Utah law is not consistent in applying that logic. To be consistent with the moral principles we claim to hold as a society and upon which we justify our right to enact and enforce our laws, we must ensure that those values are reflected in a consistent manner, especially where our most vulnerable citizens are concerned.
The law must be changed to add language which accounts for our disabled citizens, primarily those who suffer from conditions and injuries that limit their cognitive capacities. A 31-year-old with the mental capacity of a child is just as vulnerable, if not more so, than an actual child and the rape of that individual should naturally carry a similar sentence. Therefore, we must amend our current criminal code to rectify this oversight and create sentencing laws that acknowledge the reality in which our disabled citizens exist.
I propose that 76-5-402. “Rape -- Penalties” be amended to include language that acknowledges that the rape of a mentally disabled person deserves a more severe punishment. The sentencing for these crimes should reflect those imposed for rape of a child and include mandatory imprisonment.
