A Utah mother wants justice for her daughter and protection for others like her after she allegedly caught her husband sexually assaulting her. Ashley Vigil, 31, suffers from Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes severe developmental delays as well as seizures. While caring for her daughter, Paula Vigil, 49, reportedly uncovered Brian Kenneth Urban's heinous secret.
At the request of Ashley's doctor, Vigil installed cameras in her home in the hopes of recording her daughter's seizures, but sadly, she saw Urban, 51, repeatedly sexually assaulting Ashley. The stepfather pleaded guilty and is awaiting his punishment.
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Vigil cares for her daughter full time.
The heartbroken mother explained to KUTV that she is Ashley's caregiver, and although her daughter is much older, developmentally she is still a child.
"She's grown to about the size of an eight-year-old girl. She's unable to communicate," Vigil said. "Her seizures had suddenly increased."
Because of the increase in seizure activity, Ashley's doctors asked her mother to install cameras to help monitor the situation. She was not expecting what she ultimately caught on camera.
Her stepfather allegedly took advantage of the situation.
According to her mother, Ashley cannot speak or do anything for herself. Urban knew these things and took advantage of that.
"Instead of catching the seizures, I caught him," Vigil told KUTV. "In her condition, she can't move. He had to completely undress her, move her to the couch, and take her diaper off, to do what he did.
"Then he had to dress her and put her back in her bed, so I wouldn't know," she continued. "Her body was seizing, and she was crying for help in the only way she could. If not for those cameras, I would have never known, and I would have never had proof."
The mother immediately called police.
As soon as she saw the footage, she called for help, Vigil told the news station. Urban was arrested and taken to Salt Lake County Jail. He was charged with multiple felonies, including rape and object sexual assault, KUTV reported. Vigil said he faces sentencing in April, but her family's nightmare is far from over.
Due to Ashley's age, Urban does not face a mandatory jail sentence. That didn't sit well with Vigil. She said she made a promise to her daughter, and Urban shattered that. "It's that she would never be anywhere where she wasn't safe. He took that one thing I promised away," she shared.
With the help of an attorney, the mother is prepared to fight.
Nathaniel Woodward saw the mother's story on Facebook and told KUTV he wanted to help her.
"Her situation really rattled me," he said. "I just want Paula and Ashley to feel heard. There's a real gap in how our law is written and applied."
Woodard explained that Utah law has help for minors and the elderly, but it doesn't specifically have protections for those with mental or physical disabilities.
"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," he explained.
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Today, they hope to enact Ashley's Law.
Vigil told KUTV that her daughter is an adult in body but an infant in her mind. She said Urban hurt someone who couldn't fight back, and she wants him held accountable. She said Ashley's Law would protect people like her daughter.
Woodward explained, saying, "The law categorizes the punishments for rape in two broad categories. There are certain punishments for rape if the victim is an adult, and there's punishments for rape if the victim is a minor… I think it's a strong argument to say that when you rape a child, the punishment should be more severe.
"I don't think it's a big stretch to incorporate that if you rape an individual who has the mental capacity of a child, the punishment should be equally as severe or prosecuted in the same way," he added. "That's currently not how it's written."
