Texas Representative Trent Ashby has proposed a new bill, Audrii’s Law, aimed at strengthening protections for children in Texas.
The legislation would require those convicted of child grooming to register as sex offenders. Ashby introduced the bill in memory of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, who was tragically murdered by a man with a prior record of predatory behavior.
“We can’t go back and change what happened to Audrii, but at the very least passing Audrii’s law will forever be her lasting legacy” Andy Kahan, Director of Houston Crime Stoppers, told CrimeOnline.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, child killer Don McDougal, who lived in a trailer behind a Livingston home where 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham lived with her father, admitted that he agreed to take her to her school bus on February 15, 2024.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office issued an AMBER Alert after Audrii didn’t show up for school and didn’t board her bus that morning. On February 20, 2024, police found her body in the Trinity River. A criminal complaint obtained by The Docket indicated that she had a large rock tied around her with a rope.
Police found her Hello Kitty backpack downstream from where they located her body.
Click2Houston reports that McDougal “had a history of predatory behavior.”
In 2007, McDougal faced accusations of attempting to molest a young girl but escaped registration on the sex offender list by accepting a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of enticing a child, which does not mandate sex offender registration under current Texas law.
If the law passes, those convicted of child grooming will be required to join the Texas Sex Offender Registry, a provision that Texas law currently does not mandate. The bill would take effect for cases filed on or after September 1, 2025.
It is unconscionable that a violent criminal like McDougal was able to walk the streets without registering as a sex offender,” Ashby said. “Criminals with a history like McDougal need to be on a publicly available list so that people can protect themselves and their families from tragedies like what occurred in Polk County.”
The proposed law will help close the loopholes.
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