Cody’s Law has taken another big step in Harrisburg as the state House yesterday passed Representative Jim Struzzi’s bill to protect people with physical and intellectual disabilities from abuse.
House Bill 2056 would charge anyone who intentionally causes bodily injury to a person with a physical or intellectual disability with aggravated assault, a second degree felony. Currently, the law only permits a charge of misdemeanor simple assault unless there is “serious bodily injury.”
The bill is named “Cody’s Law” in honor of Cody Overdorff, a young man from Homer City who was lured and attacked by four people last August on the Hoodlebug Trail near Floodway Park. Overdorff has Williams Syndrome, a developmental disorder which affects mental and emotional capabilities.
Struzzi said yesterday that the four attackers were charged only with misdemeanors, but he said those who “target vulnerable and helpless victims pose a significant threat to our society and should be subject to harsher penalties under the law.” The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Comments