A man has been sentenced to five consecutive charges after pleading guilty to raping his severely disabled stepdaughter.
Brian Kenneth Urban, 52, received the sentence Friday in Utah’s West Jordan District Court, two weeks after the adult victim died suddenly. It includes five years to life in prison for each of his two rape convictions, and 1 to 15 years each for three counts of forcible sexual abuse.
Five weeks earlier, the suspect pleaded guilty to the five charges brought against him – after he was filmed committing the atrocities. The girl’s mother made cameras to monitor her deteriorating condition.
The victim, identified as 31-year-old Ashley Vigil, had a rare condition called Rett syndrome, a genetic condition that affects brain development in fewer than 1,000 people in the US. -the-clock care.
It is in this state that Urban took advantage of her, leading him to claim in court on Friday how his male biology led him to rape the deceased victim.
Brian Kenneth Urban, 52, received the sentence Friday in Utah’s West Jordan District Court, two weeks after the adult victim died suddenly. Here he is seen telling a judge that elevated levels of testosterone drove him to rape the deceased victim
The victim, identified as 31-year-old Ashley Vigil, had a rare condition called Rett syndrome, a genetic condition that affects brain development in fewer than 1,000 Americans. The mutation almost exclusively affects girls, leaving them plagued with diseases that require round-the-clock care
“Obviously my testosterone levels were elevated,” he said when he took the stand, according to CBS’s KUTV
He continued; “During this terrible event, I was in a dream-like state where reality felt like a dream.”
“To this day I would never believe that this was actually possible.”
The unspeakable event the suspect was referring to took place in October 2022 – and came about after a doctor recommended the victim’s mother set up cameras in her bedroom to monitor the mysterious seizures she had been having.
Instead of getting any sense of what was going on, the cameras caught Urban red-handed and exposed his behavior for everyone.
He was quickly arrested and convicted in October the following year.
Immediately After the discovery, while Ashley was still alive, her mother and full-time caregiver Paula Vigil campaigned for a new law to be passed that would help protect vulnerable adults in the same way as children and the elderly.
Billing the future guidance as ‘Ashley’s Law’, Paula came up with it to address the fact that there is no mandatory prison sentence for her daughter’s rapist, so she didn’t know how long he would be behind bars.
It was in this condition that Urban took advantage of her, resulting in him receiving a prison sentence of at least 13 years on Friday.
The girl’s mother, Paula Vigil, described what she saw in the harrowing footage last month, days before her daughter’s sudden death.
He had to undress her completely, move her to the couch and take off her diaper, to do what he did,” she said at the time, as Ashley (seen right) died suddenly, more than a year after she was raped. . “Then he had to dress her and put her back in her bed.”
Immediately after the discovery, Paula campaigned for a new law to be passed that would help protect vulnerable adults like Ashley in the same way as children and the elderly, after discovering there was no mandatory sentence for her attacker.
A rally held outside the courthouse Friday showed her continued commitment to this effort, and how she has gathered support over the past year and a half.
They all came out in support of the family’s fight to change the laws currently in effect in the state of Utah, producing signs stating that “Justice for Ashley” and Rett Syndrome is (not) a choice.
More than a year earlier, it was revealed that Ashley was unable to walk, talk and, most importantly, fight back due to her condition.
After Urban pleaded guilty to the five charges against him, Paula lamented how the then-living Ashley was plagued by seizures moments before the attack.
“Her seizures suddenly increased,” she said CUTVrecalling how she had trouble eating and was losing weight.
At that point, she said, the doctor recommended she install a camera in Ashley’s bedroom to see when the seizures were happening, but what she saw was far worse than she could ever have imagined.
“Instead of catching the attacks, I caught him,” Paula told the station, repeating, “In her condition, she (Ashley) can’t move.
She continued, “He had to undress her completely, move her to the couch and take off her diaper to do what he did. Then he had to dress her and put her back to bed.’
A rally held outside the courthouse on Friday showed her continued commitment to this, and how she has rallied support over the past year and a half
They all came out in support of the family’s fight to change the laws currently in effect in the state of Utah, producing signs proclaiming “Justice for Ashley,” and Rett Syndrome (is not a) choice.
More than a year earlier, it was revealed that Ashley was unable to walk, talk and, most importantly, fight back due to her condition.
Following the discovery, Paula called the police on her live-in husband, leading to his arrest and widespread media attention.
As he pleaded guilty, both she and her daughter faced what she said were the consequences of repeated abuse, claiming the attacks were the result of Ashley’s body screaming for help amid alleged assaults that went unrecorded.
‘She’s grown to about the size of an eight-year-old girl. She can’t communicate,” she said at the time.
“Her body faltered and she screamed for help the only way she could. Without those cameras I would never have known and I would never have had proof.’
After hearing the verdict Friday, Paula celebrated the work of prosecutors and presiding attorneys, but added that she wished Utah law needed more time.
She doubled down on her ongoing fight for “Ashley’s Law,” less than a month after Ashley passed away on March 16.
She said she hopes to pass a bill known as Ashley’s Law in the next legislative session.
Urban’s sentence, which should be a minimum of 13 years, will begin immediately, officials said
“I want to give justice to the judge, the prosecutor and the police – they did everything they could under the current laws, they gave me the best justice possible,” Vigil told Fox 13 after the verdict.
“Ashley’s Law would make mandatory minimum prison sentences the same as if she were a child or an elderly woman,” she explained.
“Their lives are hard enough, things need to be easier, caring for them needs to be easier, protecting them needs to be done.”
Urban’s sentence, which should be a minimum of thirteen years, will take effect immediately.