State child abuse registry happening thanks to a mother's 7 year fight

FOX 2 - "Wyatt's Law" is on its way to Governor Gretchen Whitmer's desk seven years after a mother of an abuse victim helped craft the bill.

That mom is Erica Hammel who wanted to create a searchable database for people convicted of child abuse.

FOX 2 first broke this story back in 2015 and today caught up with Hammel after Wyatt's Law passed the State Senate.  

In the past seven years, Hammel has traveled from her home in St. Clair Shores to Lansing over 100 times, logging 10,000 miles all to make Wyatt's Law a reality.

And now she is one small step away from that dream coming true.

"Colleagues every piece of legislation is a story, this story is about one amazing child," said Sen. Curtis Hertel, Jr. (D).

This story begins and ends with Wyatt, but he'll be the first to tell you who his hero is.

"Welcome to my home, this is my mom - she is my best friend in the whole world," Wyatt said.

It's because of Wyatt and the abuse he endured being shaken as a child, that Erica Hammel can stop going to Lansing.

"If this legislation could prevent one Michigan child from being subjected to abuse, then this legislature will have done one of the most important jobs we can do here," Hertel said.

"We've passed the House, we've passed the Senate, we're going to the governor's desk," Hammel said. "That's insane, so many emotions  - it hasn't hit me yet."

And FOX 2 was there at the beginning in 2015 when work on the bill began.

"Every child deserves a childhood they don't have to recover from," she said.

That's because Erica tried to follow her motherly instinct. She looked online for evidence of past abuse by Rachel Edwards, the woman who would be convicted of Wyatt's abuse.

Edwards had a previous history of child abuse, but there was no searchable database at the time.

"Wyatt's Law would have saved Wyatt back in 2013," she said.

In the past seven years she has fought to get her bill to the floor of the State House and Senate, while her son Wyatt has fought as well.

More coverage:

• Wyatt's Law which would create public child abuse registry gets closer to becoming reality
• Boy's abuser getting early prison release amid stalled push for Mich. child abuse registry
• Mother fights for state child abuser registry in Michigan

"Four brain surgeries, three eye surgeries, seizures, right now it's migraines that he still deals with," she said. "He'll never be able to live a normal life. But I'm thankful for the miracle that he is and he doesn't realize the big change he's making with Wyatt's Law."

Hammel had to watch as Edwards served five years in prison for Wyatt's abuse and get off probation - all before Wyatt's Law was passed.

But despite obstacles she kept fighting for what she believed.
 
"I think a lot of people didn't take me seriously at first," she said. "I'm just this mother, I've never been involved in politics."

Governor Gretchen Whitmer's office issued this statement following Wednesday's unanimous vote:

"Every parent should have confidence that their children are safe and in good hands while they are at work or running errands. Wyatt’s Law works to further protect children, give parents peace of mind, and hold individuals with prior convictions accountable.

"It was great to see the legislature come together to pass another bipartisan bill, and we will closely review the final legislation to make sure it puts parents and children first."

"If someone was convicted of serious abuse or neglect," Hammel said, "you will be able to pull their name up."

Erica Hammel has taken this cause beyond Wyatt's Law. She sits on the board of directors of the Macomb County Care House which is a child advocacy center - continuing to fight for the rights of all kids.