By: Stephen Hodzic, Staff Writer
After a recent child abduction that ultimately resulted in the murder of the child, a local Pittsburgh family is advocating for changes to the AMBER Alert law.[1]
In or around Allegheny County, on August 31, around 5:00p.m., Nalani Johnson, Paul Johnson (Nalani’s father), and Justin Rouse (Nalani’s uncle) were being driven by Sharena Nancy, who had just begun a romantic relationship with Paul Johnson.[2] Paul Johnson and Sharena Nancy got into an argument during the ride; after which Paul and Justin Rouse got out of the vehicle, but Nancy drove off before Nalani Johnson was removed from the vehicle.[3] Police were able to track and find the black Toyota Yaris by 7:30 p.m.; however, Nalani Johnson was not in the vehicle.[4] Nancy was questioned by police, and on September 2 was charged with kidnapping of a minor, interference with custody of children, and concealment of the whereabouts of a child.[5] On Tuesday, September 3, Nalani Johnson’s body was found in an area of Pine Ridge Park in Burrell Township, Indiana County.[6]
Nalani Johnson’s grandmother, Taji Walsh, has joined Pennsylvania Congressman Mike Doyle to call for changes in the AMBER Alert.[7] Eric Chaffin, attorney representing the Johnson family, emphasized that the first three hours after a child abduction are critical.[8] Chaffin stated that if children are not rescued in the first three hours of abduction 76% of them are killed or abused.[9] The family has also reached out to representative DeLuca and Senator Costa, and stated that both discussed a willingness to see if they can improve the guidelines in Pennsylvania.[10]
The AMBER Alert system was created to quickly disseminate information regarding child abductions, and the term AMBER is an acronym that stands for: America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.[11] The alert was created and took its name from a 9-year-old in Texas named Amber Hagerman, who was abducted and murdered in 1996.[12] In 2003, then President George Bush signed into law the PROTECT Act, which established a national AMBER Alert Coordinator and allowed for the coordination of AMBER Alert between state and local authorities.[13] The bill also provided $25 million for states to support AMBER Alert communication systems, and provided guidance for use of AMBER Alerts.[14] Some other provisions of the bill includes: allowing law enforcement to use wiretaps to help protect children and investigate sexual crimes against children (wiretaps are only authorized for a certain range of crimes); specifying that there is no statute of limitations for crimes involving abduction, physical, or sexual abuse of a child (previously, statute of limitations expired when the child turned 25); and increasing minimum penalties for non-family member child abduction as well as first offenses involving a child being used to produce child pornography.[15]
In Pennsylvania, an AMBER Alert can be activated if a child under 18 years of age is believed to be in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.[16] While these factors are required, other factors are taken in to account in determining whether or not to activate the PA AMBER Alert Plan, including availability of information about the child and time elapsed since the last known sighting of the child.[17] The plan currently excludes children believed to be runaways or “throwaways” from home.[18] From the information provided on their website, the State Police appear to have the final say in whether or not an AMBER Alert Plan is initiated.[19] Currently, AMBER Alerts are sent through the Wireless Emergency Alert program (WEA); which individuals are automatically enrolled in to receive alerts from the President, Imminent Threat Alerts, and AMBER Alerts.[20] The AMBER Alert Plan also uses the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to warn citizens by radio and by television when an abduction of a child has occurred.[21]
If you have chosen to not receive alerts from the WEA program and would like to now do so, you can sign up to have notifications sent to your email as well as your telephone at:
https://public.coderedweb.com/cne/en-US/BF5CCF5B2AB3
If you would like to report what you believe to be a child abduction or to provide information about a child in danger, you should contact your local law enforcement officials immediately. If it is an emergency, dial 911. For situations that are not emergencies, consider contacting:
Pittsburgh State Police: https://www.psp.pa.gov/contact/Pages/default.aspx (717-787-5599)
(if emergency, dial 911)
Pittsburgh FBI Office: https://www.fbi.gov (412-432-4000 Pittsburgh Office)
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: http://www.missingkids.com (800-843-5678)
[1] https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/11/06/nalani-johnsons-family-pushes-to-change-amber-alert-laws/
[2] https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/timeline-of-abduction-search-and-discovery-of-nalani-johnson/982473450
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/11/06/nalani-johnsons-family-pushes-to-change-amber-alert-laws/
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/amber-alerts.html
[12] Id.
[13] https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2003/April/03_ag_266.htm
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] https://www.psp.pa.gov/amber-alert/Pages/amber-alert.aspx
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] Id.
[20] Id.
[21] Id.
