OLDHAM COUNTY, Ky. — One Oldham County 7th grader is taking the skills she learned from Kentucky Youth Assembly (KYA) to create a bill she hopes will serve justice to a family dealing with the results of a child abuse case.
What You Need To Know
- Kiera Dunk, an Oldham County 7th grader, has created a bill called “Kami’s Law”
- If passed, Kami’s Law will increase penalties if a victim of child abuse is under the age of 12
- Dunk hopes her bill will bring justice to families dealing with child abuse
- Kiera will testify at the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday
Twelve-year-old Kiera Dunk has big dreams – not for herself, but for one of her best friends, Kami.
“I met Kami four years ago and I started KYA last year and we had to come up with an idea for a bill and that's when I found out what happened to Kami,” Dunk said.
At just nine months old, Kami was physically attacked by her mother’s boyfriend at the time, Paul Raque. Kami’s mom, Kylie McCarthy, is now on a mission to increase penalties for child abusers and Dunk is helping lead the charge.
She created a bill called “Kami’s Law.”
“I wrote a law where child abusers would have higher consequences if they violently abuse a child under the age of 12,” Dunk explained.
Kami was left with challenges she’ll face for the rest of her life both physically and mentally, while Raque served less than five years in prison.
“We both shed some tears thinking about what all Kami has gone through and what her life could have looked like if it hadn't been for her abuser. And even right now, this is the second time in the past couple of years that she has been admitted to the hospital as a direct result of the abuse she suffered,” Kiera’s mom, Brandi Dunk said.
Kiera continues to work on House Bill 263, better known as Kami’s Law.
“I was sad and angry because she's in the hospital right now while the person is already free. He got four years and eight months and he got the same sentence as someone who didn't pay child support,” Kiera said.
She's doing it all in hopes of preventing this from happening to another family.
“Kentucky is the highest in the nation for child abuse, so were hoping that this is just the first step of many. If we have harsher consequences were hoping to kind of curtel some of the abuse and if we can prevent this from happening to any child then its worth it,” Brandi said.
As for Kami’s Law, Kiera will testify at the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday in Frankfort, and if passed, it'll go back to the house floor for a vote.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to Kentucky Youth Assembly as "Kentucky Youth Advocates." The error has been corrected.