A petition on change.org aims to reform federal and state laws by strengthening accountability for crimes against children to prevent future tragedies.
The proposed Javeayah's Law comes as the investigation into the death of 4-year-old Javeayah Harris continues. The Aiken County preschooler was reported missing by her mother on June 30. During a news conference Thursday, the Aiken County Sheriff's Office announced that a small number of human remains had been recovered from the Cedar Creek Reservoir in Fairfield County.
Harris' parents, Mischelia Herring, 22, and Johnmarea Harris, 23, were arrested and denied bond. Both are charged with homicide by child abuse and destruction and desecration of human remains.
Aiken County Sheriff Marty Sawyer Jr. said during the news conference that DNA analysis indicates the remains found in Cedar Creek are consistent with the "biological offspring" of Herring and Harris. He added that corrosive chemicals and other tools were used by Harris' parents to accelerate the destruction of her body.
Sheriff Sawyer said he has never heard of a case so horrific in his nearly 40-year career.
"This past week has been heart wrenching for everyone," he said. "This is one of the most difficult, deeply disturbing and emotionally taxing investigations this office has ever worked."
The proposed Javeayah's Law would create a mandatory federal felony charge for anyone who falsely reports a child missing in order to conceal abuse, neglect, homicide, or another crime. The charge would be separate from any state or federal charges related to the underlying offense.
The petition also seeks to require offenders who trigger costly, multi-agency searches and investigations through deception to repay all federal, state, and local resources spent responding to the fabricated disappearance, with no exceptions or judicial discretion.
In addition, Javeayah’s Law calls for mandatory parenting and child-development classes for all expectant or new parents ages 25 and younger. The classes would be automatically organized when a pregnancy or birth is registered through the hospital where the mother plans to deliver.