Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara and Senator Jim Tedisco announced a new bipartisan effort to urge Governor Kathy Hochul to include new privacy protections for child victims and the creation of a state Cold Case Unit to find missing persons.

Santabarbara and Tedisco are being supported in their legislative efforts by the Sena family, whose then 9-year-old daughter was kidnapped while riding her bike in Moreau Lake State Park in 2023. In the months following her rescue, the child survivor faced numerous occasions of being retraumatized in her dealings with the legal system as part of the run-up to the kidnapper’s conviction.

Assemblyman Santabarbara and Senator Tedisco also have the support from nationally-recognized missing persons advocate Mary Lyall of Ballston Spa, whose daughter Suzanne Lyall went missing from SUNY Albany in l998.

Last year, Santabarbara and Tedisco sponsored legislation and called on the Governor through the budget to install security cameras at the entrances and exits of Moreau Lake State Park and all state parks. Cameras and additional security measures are now up at Moreau Lake State Park and in the process of being implemented in the more than 180 other state parks and recreational facilities.

Assemblyman Santabarbara and Senator Tedisco are now eyeing a similar approach by requesting the Governor implement their legislation, “The Child Survivor Privacy Act,” in the state budget (Please click here to view the letter) to help survivors who are minors by ensuring they have a dedicated advocate present during all questioning and proceedings. Many times, when minors must share their story and give depositions in such a case, there is either no advocate present or a different person accompanying them each time. The bill also has several privacy protections for child victims.

“As a father, I understand the importance of safeguarding the well-being of our children and supporting families through unimaginable challenges,” said Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara. “This bipartisan effort reflects our shared commitment to protecting child survivors from further trauma and ensuring their privacy during legal proceedings. Additionally, creating a Cold Case Unit within the New York State Police is a crucial step in bringing closure to families who have waited far too long for answers. Our goal is to make these necessary changes a key part of the Governor’s state budget,” said Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara.

“Helping to find missing persons and supporting their families has been one of the areas that I’ve focused on over my legislative career. I’ve been proud to work with the Sena family of the courageous Corinth young lady who was kidnapped over a year ago on new legislation to help child survivors by ensuring they have a dedicated advocate present during all questioning and proceedings and to add new protections to safeguard their privacy. We also have the support of one of my heroes, Mary Lyall and the Center for Hope, to seek the creation of a new special unit in the New York State Police dedicated to finding missing persons and solving cold cases. We are making a bipartisan approach to the Governor to implement these commonsense policy ideas as part of her state budget where we believe we have a good chance of them becoming law,” said Senator Jim Tedisco, who has long been recognized as a leading state legislative expert on issues related to missing persons.

“Our family has been through an unimaginable trauma, and since then, protecting Charlotte’s privacy and others like her has been our primary focus. We have been working hard alongside and Assemblyman Santabarbara and Senator Tedisco on this initiative to ensure all the children of NYS stay safe and protected at all times. The Governor has been personally involved and invested in Charlotte’s case and through our personal interactions with her over the past year, we know she has the same goal of protecting the precious children of our great state. We strongly urge her to include the Child Survivor Privacy act in this year’s legislative budget,” said Jene Sena of Schenectady, Charlotte’s aunt.

“While I deeply appreciate all the work done day after day by the New York State Police to help find missing persons, New York really needs a special unit that’s solely laser-focused on solving missing persons and cold cases. Too many families, like mine, face the quiet desperation of not knowing what happened to their loved ones. I want to thank Assemblyman Santabarbara and Senator Tedisco for making this one of their legislative priorities and I hope the Governor would give this serious consideration to include in her budget,” said Mary Lyall, Co-Founder of the Center for Hope in Ballston Spa, and mother of Suzanne Lyall, who has been missing since 1998.