BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — There's a push to pass Noah's Law here in New York State. The law is named after a young Niagara County boy who suffered physical and mental abuse at the hands of his family.
"It was one of the most horrifying cases I have ever seen," Tracey Steen, head of the Niagara County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Bureau, said. "When I originally was responding to the hospital, I had been told that he had coded and he wasn't going to make it."
The case first surfaced in 2020 when a local pediatrician called authorities after seeing Noah's condition. That phone call may have saved his life and the lives of his siblings, who also lived in the household.
Shelly Hitzel, Executive Director at the Child Advocacy Center in Niagara, worked closely on the case. She noted that these situations can escalate over time and lead to different outcomes.
"In these types of cases, we see abuse escalate over time," Hitzel said. "The chance of a child who is enduring torture becoming the victim of a fatality is incredibly high."
Steen added that her department sees 20 to 25 cases a year in Niagara County alone.
Investigators obtained video evidence documenting much of the abuse. As a result:
- Michael Wilson, Noah's grandfather, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
- Christina DeGroff, Noah's step-grandmother, was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
- Michaela Wilson, another step-grandmother, received 6 months.
Captain Steen said that these sentences fall short, and that's why lawmakers like New York State Representative Angelo Morinello are now fighting to pass "Noah's Law." Noah's Law would create stronger child protection measures and harsher penalties for child abusers.
"The reason for bringing this forth is to add a criminal act in the New York State penal law dealing with the torture of children, minors, handicapped, and incapacitated individuals," Morinello said.
A petition supporting Noah's Law has been started. You can support online here.
