At the Stafford County Public Safety Building on May 22, 2024, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin ceremonially signed four bills relating to child safety – including a bill that stemmed from an incident involving Longwood Social Work Professor Ian Danielsen’s son in 2022.
The Rotunda recently recapped the journey of H.B. 1427 on its YouTube channel, including the initial close call experienced by Rowan Danielsen on Second Street in Farmville that he retold at the event. “I was riding my bicycle home from downtown Farmville after doing some Christmas shopping, and after getting to the summit of a long hill, I stopped to catch my breath. A van then pulled close beside me, and the driver offered to put my bike in the back and to take me home. I declined politely – and thankfully, he moved on,” he said.
After locating the van and reporting the man to the Farmville Police Department, “Imagine our shock upon learning that evening that this man was a registered sexual offender,” he said. Later, they found out nothing could be done as the man’s probation was limited to one year due to felony charges pled down to misdemeanors.
Therefore, Rowan Danielsen and his father felt the need to take the issue to Richmond. After several months of committee testimony and unanimous votes in the General Assembly, a bill proponents say will remedy the matter was officially signed into law in early April.
The bill, which was introduced by Virginia Delegate Michael Webert, would give judges greater discretion in determining sentences for sexual battery and sexual abuse of a child 13 years of age or older but under 15 years of age. In his remarks, Ian Danielsen said the bill would put “more 'teeth' into sexual offenders’ accountability on probation."
Youngkin gave his remarks last, in which he began by recognizing Rowan Danielsen for his advocacy. “When he got home on that night, when many 13-year-olds would in-fact forget what happened at the top of that hill, he knew what the right thing to do was to say something,” adding to both Danielsens “God bless you both, and thank you for making such a huge difference.”
Youngkin also noted the importance of bills that come from stories like Rowan Danielsen’s, saying his stories like his are “where great legislation comes from. It comes from Virginians who reach out to their delegate or their senator and say ‘we’ve got a problem.” Later in his remarks, Youngkin also noted that, “We all have 8.7 million bosses. That includes those who are 13.”
In total, Youngkin ceremonially signed four bills relating to child safety at the event – H.B. 1427, H.B. 1388, S.B. 731, and S.B. 201.
H.B. 1388 and S.B. 201 – known as the CODI Alert laws in honor of 4-year-old Codi Bigsby, who in 2022 went missing in Hampton and was never found – establish a program for local, regional, and statewide notifications for missing or endangered children.
S.B. 731 broadens the statewide definition of child pornography to include sexually explicit images and videos where the depicted minor does not need to exist, primarily aiming to combat child pornography created using artificial intelligence.
In his remarks, Rowan Danielsen said he hopes that H.B. 1427 will give a layer of protection to those like him that he did not have in his close call. “My sincere hope is that this legislation will aid judges, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors to protect other children and youth in Virginia if God forbid they are faced with similar encounters,” he said.
The bill will become law on July 1, 2024.
Rowan Danielsen gives remarks at Ceremonial Bill Signing
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.) ceremonially signs House Bill 1427.
