In a fervent push for legislative change, a Utah mother’s crusade to bolster punishment in sexual abuse cases has garnered widespread attention both nationally and internationally.
Paula Vigil’s initiative, dubbed “Ashley’s Law,” seeks to enact stricter measures to safeguard vulnerable adults, inspired by the traumatic experience of her severely disabled 31-year-old daughter, Ashley, who was raped by her stepfather.
“We are just at the beginning of the impact that Ashley’s story is going to have on everyone,” remarked attorney Nathan Woodward, who is assisting Vigil in her advocacy efforts.
Woodward emphasized the urgency of enacting legislation to protect individuals like Ashley, who suffers from Rett syndrome, a rare disorder rendering her intellectually equivalent to a toddler or infant despite her physical age.
“When we have a situation like Ashley — where she’s a 31-year-old woman physically, however, she is no more than a toddler and infant mentally — when someone like Ashley is subjected to sexual assault or battery, the law says we will punish as if she were any other adult, not as if she were a child,” Woodward explained.
The proposed “Ashley’s Law” aims to rectify this disparity in treatment, garnering support from individuals across the nation and even internationally, including Australia, where similar gaps in protection for vulnerable adults are identified.
“There is this big hole there, and we don’t treat these crimes as seriously as we should or punish them as severely as we should,” Woodward lamented.
Initially conceived as a modest amendment to Utah law, Vigil now advocates for broader reforms to address various forms of abuse against vulnerable adults beyond sexual assault.
“I started out just wanting to change the law for rape,” shared Paula, reflecting on the growing scope of the initiative. “I am getting letters that not only is that happening, but abuse of different kinds is happening.”
Despite the progress, challenges persist in seeking justice for victims like Ashley. Brian Kenneth Urban, Ashley’s perpetrator, has pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges but currently faces no mandatory minimum prison sentence.
“Unfortunately, it’s too late in Ashley’s case for her perpetrator for her abuser to get the justice he deserves,” Woodward acknowledged. “But it’s not too late if we can’t get this ‘Ashley’s Law’ passed to give her the justice she deserves.”
Looking ahead to the 2025 legislative session, Vigil and Woodward remain resolute in their pursuit of Ashley’s Law, aiming to enact changes not only at the state level but also advocating for federal reform.
“I promised her now that this will be done, so I hope to have it done, and I hope to be able to say ‘no one falls in this hole again, you saved them Ash,'” expressed Paula, driven by a determination to prevent future tragedies.
Woodward echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the broader implications of Ashley’s Law in fortifying protections for vulnerable adults across a spectrum of abuses.
“This applies in a lot more situations than just sexual battery — it can happen with financial fraud, other types of physical abuse, kidnapping,” Woodward emphasized. “So what we saw was that if we wanted to make Ashley’s Law as impactful as possible, we actually need to look at all the laws that have a different sentencing structure.”