Audrii’s law goes into effect, ending loophole

TYLER – Our news partner KETK is reporting that Texas House Bill 2000, also known as Audrii’s law, went into effect on Monday, ending a loophole that kept convicted child groomers off the sex offender registry. The bill was named for Audrii Cunningham, an 11-year-old girl from Polk County who was kidnapped and murdered in Feb. 2024.

Audrii was the subject of a Feb. 15, 2024 Amber Alert after she never showed up to school. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the Trinity River Authority found Audrii’s body five days later in the Trinity River on Feb. 20.

Don McDougal lived in a camper on the Cunningham’s property and was supposed to drop Audrii off at the bus stop on the day she went missing.

McDougal, who pleaded guilty to Audrii’s murder, was previously accused of indecency with a child in 2007 but he pleaded down to the charge of enticing a child and that kept him off the Sex Offender Registry.

East Texas State Rep. Trent Ashby authored HB 2000 in order to close a loophole that was left open when the Texas Legislature first made child grooming a state crime.

“It is unconscionable that a violent criminal like McDougal was arrested and charged for attempting to molest a child and then was able to walk the streets without registering as a sex offender,” Ashby said after filling the bill. “Criminals with a history like McDougal need to be on a publicly available list so that people can protect themselves and their families from tragedies like what occurred in Polk County.”

The Texas Senate passed HB 2000 on April 17, the Texas House passed it on May 9 and Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill into law on May 22.