Dec. 01, 2025
HARRISBURG – Responding to the tragic death of 2-year-old Oakley Hedlund in Bradford earlier this year, Rep. Martin Causer (R-Cameron/McKean/Potter) has introduced legislation that would better protect children against convicted child abusers.
House Bill 2075 would impose a mandatory period of post-release supervision for any offender convicted of a crime involving a minor child, even if the offender has served the maximum term of imprisonment imposed by the court.
“Nothing we do can right the many wrongs committed against Oakley, but we can learn from this tragedy and take steps to protect other children from suffering the same fate,” Causer said.
The man accused in Oakley’s death – his father – had recently completed a 40-month sentence on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment of another person. In that case, the victim was an 18-month-old who suffered near-fatal injuries, according to testimony in court. Because the man, Tyler Prescott, had served his full sentence in that case, he was released without any further supervision.
“It’s crazy to think someone convicted of such crimes would be permitted to just walk away without any further supervision or monitoring,” Causer said. “This is a serious loophole in our state law that puts children and the community at risk. My bill would close this loophole.”
House Bill 2075 is pending referral to a House committee for consideration.
Causer said he is also co-sponsoring two other bills that would address the tragedy of child abuse and aim to protect the Commonwealth’s children.
House Bill 849 would establish a registry of individuals convicted of committing child abuse. The bill would require defendants convicted of certain child abuse offenses, such as aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, corruption of a minor and kidnapping, to register and provide a variety of information to the Pennsylvania State Police, including if they obtain a new job, residency or vehicle. Similar to the state’s sex offender registry, the goal is to ensure the public has access to information necessary to help protect the safety of their children.
House Bill 1837 would create the offense of child torture to empower law enforcement and the courts to impose additional penalties in the most extreme cases of abuse. Under the bill, torture is defined as a course of conduct that includes at least one of a detailed list of common acts present in torture cases, such as physically or sexually abusing a child, restraining or confining the child in an unreasonable manner, restricting basic and necessary bodily functions, starving the child or terrorizing the child for the purposes of causing significant emotional distress.
Both bills were referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.
Representative Martin T. Causer
67th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Patricia A. Hippler
717.772.9846
phippler@pahousegop.com
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