The family of a severely disabled woman who was raped by her stepfather wants the law to be changed to reduce the charges against her attacker in similar cases.
brian kenneth urban pleaded guilty to rape Ashley Vigil had a rare disease known as Rett syndrome. Her mother said the 33-year-old woman was unable to walk, talk or fight back due to her symptoms.
Mr. Urban was arrested in October 2022 after Mr. Vigil’s family discovered horrifying videos of his abuse at his home in Price, Utah. The family wanted to record their daughter’s worsening seizures and, on the advice of doctors, installed a video camera in her daughter’s room.
“Instead of him having a seizure, I caught him,” said Ashley’s mother, Paula Vigil.
“In her condition, she is unable to move. To do what he did, he had to completely undress her, move her to the couch, and remove her diaper. He then forced her to I had to get him dressed and put him back in bed, so I didn’t know,” she explained.
“Her body was convulsing and she was screaming for help in the only way she could,” she added. “Without that camera, we would never have known and we would never have had the evidence.”
Ashley Vigil passed away on March 16 after suffering from seizures and weight loss. She weighed only 48 pounds when she died.
Urban was convicted of five felonies, including rape and forcible sexual abuse. He is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
The victim’s family believes Urban’s sentence may be more lenient because, according to the law, the victim is considered an adult and his severe disability was not taken into account. They want to change the law so that people with severe disabilities are given special consideration in cases of victimization.
Some parliamentarians expressed There is interest in passing “Ashley’s Law” to introduce mandatory penalties in similar cases.
Ashley’s mother said: “He did this to someone who couldn’t fight back. He deserves a mandatory prison sentence, but there are just holes in this system.”
“She spent her entire life trapped in her tiny little body, in the safety of her home,” she added. “And he took even that and ultimately took her life.”
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