A sick creep has been sentenced to serve five felony charges consecutively after pleading guilty to raping his severely disabled stepdaughter.
Brian Kenneth Urban, 52, was hit with the sentence at West Jordan District Court in UtahFriday, two weeks after the adult victim suddenly died. It includes five years to life for each of his two rape convictions, and 1-15 years a piece for three counts of forcible sexual abuse.
Five weeks earlier, the suspect pleaded guilty to the five charges that had been laid against him - after he was filmed committing the atrocitiesby cameras the girl's mother to monitor her deteriorating condition.
Identified as 31-year-oldAshley Vigil,the victim had a rare disorder called Rett syndrome, a genetic condition that affects brain development in fewer than 1,000 people in the US,The mutation affects girls almost exclusively, plaguing them with maladies that require round-the-clock care.
It is in this state that Urban took advantage of her, leading him to assert to a judge Friday how his male biology led him to rape the late victim.
Brian Kenneth Urban, 52, was hit with the sentence at West Jordan District Court in Utah Friday, two weeks after the adult victim suddenly died. He is seen here telling a judge that heightened levels of testosterone led him to rape the late victim
Identified as 31-year-old Ashley Vigil, the victim had a rare disorder called Rett syndrome, a genetic condition that affects brain development in fewer than 1,000 Americans. The mutation affects girls almost exclusively, plaguing them with maladies that require round-the-clock care
'It is obvious that my testosterone levels were elevated,' he said upon taking the stand according to CBS'sKUTV
He continued;'During this horrible event I was in a dreamlike state where reality felt like a dream,'
'I still today would never believe this was actually possible.'
The unspeakable event the suspect referred to occurred in October 2022 - and came about after a doctor recommended to the mother of the victim she set up cameras in her bedroom to monitor mysterious seizures she had been having
Instead of gaining some semblance of what was going on, the cameras caughtUrban in the act, laying bare hisbehavior to all.
He was swiftly arrested, and convicted in October the following year.
Immediatelyafter the discovery, when Ashley was still alive, her mother and full-time caretaker Paula Vigil campaignedto pass a new law that would help protect vulnerable adults in the same way kids and the elderly are.
Billing the prospective guidance as 'Ashley's Law,'Paula came up with it to address the fact that there's no mandatory prison sentence for her daughter's rapist,so she didn't know how long he'd be behind bars.
It is in this state that Urban took advantage of her, leading him to be hit with the at least 13-year sentence on Friday
The girl's mother, Paula Vigil, described what she witnessed in the harrowing footage this past month, days before her daughter suddenly died
He had to completely undress her, move her to the couch, and take her diaper off, to do what he did,' she said at the time, while Ashley - seen at right - suddenly passed, 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 to pass a new law that would help protect vulnerable adults like Ashley in the same way kids and the elderly are, after she found that there was no mandatory sentence for her attacker
A rally seen outside the courthouse Friday showed how her continued devotion to this, and how she's rallied support over the past year-and-a-half.
They all arrivedin support of the family's fight to change laws currently in place in Utah state, producing signs that asserted 'Justice for Ashley', and Rett syndrome [isn't] a choice'.
More than a year before, it was revealed that due to her condition, Ashley couldn't walk, talk, and, most importantly, fight back.
After Urban pleaded guilty to the five felony charges against him,Paula lamented how a then-alive Ashley was plagued by seizures just before the assault
'Her seizures had suddenly increased,' she toldKUTV, recalling how she had beenstruggling to eat 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 occurring - but what she saw was far worse than she could have ever imagined.
'Instead of catching the seizures, I caught him,' Paula told the station, reiterating:'In her condition, she [Ashley] can't move.
She continued: 'He had to completely undress her, move her to the couch, and take her diaper off, to do what he did.Then he had to dress her and put her back in her bed.'
A rally seen outside the courthouse Friday showed how her continued devotion to this, and how she's rallied support over the past year-and-a-half
They all arrived in support of the family's fight to change laws currently in place in Utah state, producing signs that asserted 'Justice for Ashley', and Rett syndrome [isn't] a choice'
More than a year before, it was revealed that due to her condition, Ashley couldn't walk, talk, and, most importantly, fight back
After the discovery, Paula called the cops on her live-in husband, leading to his arrest and a hive of media attention
As he pled guilty, both she and her daughter were facing what she said were consequencels caused by repeated abuse, claimingthe seizures were a result of Ashley's body screaming for help amid alleged assaults that went unrecordefd.
'She's grown to about the size of an eight-year-old girl. She's unable to communicate,' she said at the time.
'Her body was seizing, and she was crying for help in the only way she could. If not for those cameras, I would have never known, and I would have never had proof.'
After hearing the sentence Friday, Paula celebrated the work of state prosecutors and presiding jurists, but added that she wishes more time was required by Utah law.
She thus doubled down on her continued fight for 'Ashley's Law,' less than a month after Ashley passed on March 16.
She said she hopes to see a bill that will become known as Ashley's Law' in the next legislative session.
Urban's sentence, which should be at least 13 years, will begin immediately, officials said
'I want to give the judge and the prosecutor and the police - they did everything they possibly could under the current laws, they gave me the best justice possible,' Vigil told Fox 13 after the ruling.
'Ashley's law would make mandatory minimum prison sentences the same as if she were a child or if she were elderly,' she explained
'Their lives are hard enough already, things should be easier, taking care of them should be easier, protecting them should be done.'
Urban's sentence, which should be at least 13 years, will begin immediately.
