Singer, others, want law to protect mentally challenged

Political support is growing fast for stronger laws to protect adults with developmental disabilities, after the Asbury Park Press broke a story this week of a Howell teen with autism who escaped death when he jumped off a Manasquan jetty into the frigid ocean in February on a dare.

A day after the story ran in the Asbury Park Press, state Senator Robert Singer, R-Ocean, said Friday he plans to introduce legislation to provide protections for developmentally disabled adults.

Pair encouraged autistic man to plunge in icy ocean

Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblyman Sean Kean and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, all R-Monmouth, also said they are doing research to craft a law that would make it a crime to put people with developmental disabilities in harm's way. Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini (R-Monmouth) and Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, (R-Ocean) are on board with the idea, Casagrande said.

And Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said he will consider changes to existing laws and will convene a meeting with policy groups, people with developmental disabilities and their families to discuss ways to prevent similar incidents in the future.

"The great news is, there seems to be a political will in Trenton to get some protections on the books for developmentally disabled people, now that everyone has read the horror story of what happened to Parker Drake,'' Casagrande said.

"The more, the merrier,'' Singer said after learning that other lawmakers are on board with his idea.

Singer said he would introduce legislation to broaden state laws to include protections for developmentally disabled people after reading a story in Thursday's Asbury Park Press about the ordeal of Parker Drake, a 19-year-old from Howell with autism, anxiety disorder, Tourette syndrome, learning disabilities and juvenile diabetes.

Drake told the Asbury Park Press that two of his so-called friends called him on Feb. 25 and said they would give him $20 and two packs of cigarettes to go into the ocean and stay there for a minute. Then, they drove him to Manasquan, took him out on a jetty and told him to jump, Drake said.

The young man jumped off the jetty and found himself struggling in freezing water over his head while the other two men laughed and recorded a video that they later placed on the social media site Snapchat, he said. The ocean's temperature was 30 degrees Fahrenheit that day.

"This is a very troubling incident where a young man with a mental disability was taken advantage of,'' Singer said. "This was not a harmless prank. It was flat-out wrong and could have resulted in this young man's death. This type of abuse of a developmentally disabled person who didn't know any better simply can't be tolerated.''

Drake told the Asbury Park Press he thought he was going to drown. His mother, Christine Marshall, said her son also was at risk of death from hypothermia or because his insulin pump froze.

EDITORIAL: Get justice for Parker

When Marshall turned to police to prosecute the two young men, she was told that what they did was not a crime. So Marshall, on Wednesday, filed complaints charging the men, Nicholas Formica, 20, and Christopher Tilton, 19, both of Howell, with a disorderly persons offense – endangering the welfare of a mentally incompetent person – for which the maximum punishment is six months in jail. The two are due to make an appearance in municipal court in Manasquan this Wednesday.

Lisa Krenkel, an Allenhurst attorney representing Drake and Marshall, said if what was done to Drake was done to a child, it would constitute the crime of child endangerment, which can be punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Singer said the legislation he plans to propose in about two weeks would broaden the state's current endangerment statute to make it apply to those with developmental disabilities who are influenced into taking actions that could harm them.

"This legislation will clear up any question in the law about whether these types of actions against developmentally disabled adults are illegal,'' Singer said. "Bullying or taking advantage of anyone with a mental disability is clearly wrong, and our laws should reflect that.''

Singer said he is working with Christopher Gramiccioni, acting Monmouth County prosecutor, and will have him review any proposed legislation before it is introduced so that any new law would be likely to withstand court scrutiny.

"If we make it too broad, the courts will knock it down,'' Singer said.

Beck said she, too, has reached out to Gramiccioni with concerns so that any new law doesn't infringe on a disabled person's personal liberties.

"My office has reached out to the prosecutor, and we are engaging him in a detailed conversation to develop legislation that will protect individuals who may be manipulated by others without taking away any of the freedoms that developmentally disabled folks have,'' Beck said. "That will take some research, but I think it has to be done. …There has to be protections in place for those who might be more easily swayed than others.''

Kean, who is municipal prosecutor in Bradley Beach, called Drake's experience "horrifying'' but said he couldn't think of any indictable offense on the books that the two men could be charged with. He said he contacted the Office of Legislative Services to begin research on crafting a new law that will pass constitutional muster.

"We want to make sure its constitutional, otherwise, it won't do what we want,'' Kean said. "If it's not done carefully, it's not worth the paper it's written on.''

Casagrande said she would like to convene hearings in the Legislature to consider an umbrella law to protect not only children and the developmentally disabled, but also the elderly.

"Some people reached out to me today to say, 'How can we get this done?''' Casagrande said Friday. "There's going to be lots of people pushing and pulling for this.''

Sweeney, the Democratic Senate president, appears to be one of them.

"This is cruel and dangerous behavior that went beyond bullying and endangered the life of Parker Drake,'' Sweeney said. "It is reprehensible to treat anyone this way, and it is worse that a young man with developmental disabilities was treated this way.

"I will look at the law and consider changes to protect individuals from such unconscionable actions, but the young men who committed this act need to take a long, hard look in the mirror,'' Sweeney said. "A law may not change them, but it could protect those they prey on.''

Kathleen Hopkins: (732)643-4202; Khopkins@app.com