Child Abuse Registry Gaining Momentum In Legislature

ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI — Erica Hammel’s battle to create a child-abuse registry in Michigan appears to be gaining traction. On Tuesday, the St. Clair Shores mother spoke before a House committee on “Wyatt’s Law,” a package of bills introduced in the House and Senate on March 16.

The legislation would require those criminally convicted of child abuse to register with law enforcement for up to 10 years. The Michigan State Police would have to maintain a publicly searchable database that includes the convict's photo; name; date of birth; home, work and school addresses; a summary of their convictions; and their registration status, the Lansing State Journal reported.

The proposed legislation is named for Hammel’s son, Wyatt Rewoldt, who was injured severely after being shaken by her ex-husband’s girlfriend a few years ago. Rachel Edwards was charged and convicted in the case, but could soon be paroled.

The abuse was so severe, Wyatt almost died. He had a fractured skull, a major brain bleed, suffered permanent brain damage, went blind in one eye, had broken ribs and continues to have severe cognitive and developmental delays, the Detroit Free Press reported.

“Parents deserve to know who they are leaving their child with,” said Kevin Hertel, a St. Clair Shores Democrat, who was one of several sponsors of the legislation. In a statement, Hertel said: “With a searchable database, we can give other parents access to important information they should have. I believe that this would never have happened had Wyatt’s mother been able to access the conviction information for free.”

Hammel thinks a registry would have saved Wyatt from Edwards, who had two prior convictions for child abuse. Her son was hurt on an overnight stay with his father.

"I truly believe it would have prevented my son … from being abused," Hammel told the Lansing State Journal.

The House and Senate bills are identical pieces of legislation and match bills introduced in the House during the last legislative session. Michigan isn’t the only state considering such measures.

Indiana already has laws on the books. Utah and Kentucky are also considering legislation.

The child abuse registry isn’t without its critics, however, including the American Civil Liberties Union. Sherri Weisberg, political director for the ACLU of Michigan, has previously testified against Wyatt’s Law.

"I don’t feel great being up here to be the one to oppose this," Weisberg told the Detroit Free Press, "but I think there are very solid policy reasons.”

Weisberg said the child about registry legislation is poor copy of the sex-offender registry, which she thinks has had unduly harsh consequences for people listed on it.

"That public registry has evolved with a bunch of collateral laws, that have actually now done more damage ... than good,” she told the Free Press. “Mainly because people who are now left on the registry for life cannot get jobs, cannot get help, cannot live around their family, cannot live around the very resources they need to help them address their crimes and their behavior.”

Hammel doesn’t have much sympathy for people convicted of hurting children.

"If we cannot keep or put these people who are convicted — and I can't say that enough — convicted — of child abuse ... behind bars, then we as parents and guardians have a right to know who they are so we can keep our children away from them," Hammel told lawmakers in previous testimony, the Free Press reported.

Hammel’s appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday. A hearing has not yet been scheduled for the House Judiciary Committee, the Lansing State Journal reported. Wyatt’s Law includes Senate Bills 261, 262, and 263, and House Bills 4384, 4385 and 4386.

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