The proposed Texas law may put people convicted of children who care for the state sexual criminals.
The entitled “The Law of Odri” was the 2000 Chamber. It aims to prevent violent crimes by closing a legal door that allows certain offenders of sexual offenders to fly under the radar, said Trent Ashby, Republican from Eastern Texas, who is the author of the bill. The legislation was determined in honor of 11-year-old Odry Cunningham, who was killed and thrown into the Trinity River last year.
Last week, submitting the texas legislation comes days after Don Stephen McDugal, a friend of the family who lived in a trailer behind Kenningham’s home northeast of Houston, pleaded guilty to his murder.
Cunningham’s daily disappearance attracted national attention and public safety alert across the country after it failed to reach its school bus in Livingston on February 15, 2024.
Days after his disappearance, McDugal admitted to the authorities that he had left the house with Cunningham on the day she disappeared. Polk County Sheriff’s service told reporters at the time that the man had brought police to several sites around Lake Trinity. A backpack confirmed that hers was found near the lake.
Related: Audrey Kenningham’s body found in the Trinity River; A person of interest Don Stephen McDugal to be charged
Last year’s large jury charged McDugal on two accusations of capital murder in connection with the death of Cunningham.
In a statement, Ashby stated, Lufkin Daily NewsS
Previously, McDugal was accused of obscene in a child after accusations of trying to force a young girl. As part of the legal basis agreement, McDougal pleaded guilty to a single child’s lure, an accusation that did not land him in the State Register of Sexual Criminals, according to Lufkin Daily NewsS
According to the Law of Texas, the crime of lure a child refers to the illegal claim of custody of a child, more than 18 years old and is not specific to sexual acts. Crimes for raising children include sexual activity.
“It is undoubtedly that a violent criminal like McDugal was arrested and accused of trying to violence for a child and then managed to walk the streets without registering as a sexual criminal,” Ashby said.
The legislation will only apply to people who commit the crime of children who care or after the day the bill is signed by law. If adopted, the Odri law will enter into force on September 1.
“Criminals with history like McDugal must be on a publicly available list so that people can protect themselves and their families from tragedies like what happened in Polk County,” Ashby said.