RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) – Governor Glenn Youngkin signed a bill on Wednesday to officially establish the Codi Alert Program, as well as two other bills to protect children from exploitation, increase penalties on child predators and ensure rapid response for missing or endangered children.
The alert, named after Codi Bigsby who was reported missing from his home in Hampton in January of 2022, will allow alerts to be sent locally and statewide about a missing or endangered child whose whereabouts are unknown and whose disappearance is under suspicious circumstances.
This will differ from an AMBER Alert, which requires detailed information about a possible abduction.
The newly signed CODI Alert would appear on phones within a 10-mile radius of where the child lives and where the child was last seen.
“As a father of four children, I know that protecting our children is a parent’s highest priority,” Governor Youngkin said. “By signing these pieces of legislation today we continue to make progress to ensure the safety and well-being of our children. I am proud to sign these bills that protect our children and hold those who commit atrocities against children accountable.”
In addition to the CODI Alert, Governor Youngkin also signed SB 731, which works to amend the definition of child pornography to include sexually explicit visual material depicting minors, specifying that such minor does not have to actually exist.
“This legislation brings our child pornography code into the 21st century by closing a loophole that criminals have been able to exploit using digital technology and artificial intelligence,” Senator Tara Durant said. “On July 1 we will be able to more clearly prosecute these heinous criminal acts. I’m so grateful to the Commonwealth’s Attorney in Spotsylvania County for bringing this important issue to my attention.”
HB 1427 was also signed by Youngkin, which allows the court to fix the period of suspension of a sentence to not exceed three years for sexual abuse of a child under the age of 15.
“All of these bills will have a measurable impact on the safety of our kids, HB 1427 directly works to ensure that those convicted of heinous crimes against children will not be able to so easily reoffend,” Delegate Michael Webert said.