CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Sunday marks five years since 7-year-old Somer Thompson was kidnapped and murdered. She disappeared in Clay County while walking home from school.
After an extensive search, the child's body was found in a South Georgia landfill.
Last year, 26-year-old Jared Harrell was sentenced to life in prison for her death.
Sunday, friends and family gathered at Somer's Sunshine Park for a vigil in her memory. They hung purple wreaths and signs with messages of hope.
Since Somer's murder, her mother, Diena, has crusaded for stricter sex offender laws.
"Your child can be tricked just like mine was tricked. A monster got ahold of her. (There's) not a doubt in my mind that he asked her to come in and see the dog. We have to stay vigilant," Thompson said.
She said she's happy that legislation made to the top of lawmaker's agendas.
"Now our politicians are looking at this and seeing that it's a problem. That's the really good thing for me," Thompson said.
In March, state lawmakers unanimously passed four bills to protect children from sex predators. The bills make it harder for previous offenders to be released and requires them to register vehicles, online identities and other information.
Thompson cited the case of Cherish Perrywinkle, an 8-year-old Jacksonville girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered last year. A registered sex offender, Donald Smith, will be tried in May for those crimes.
Smith, 57, had made repeated failed attempts to kidnap young girls -- even posing as a Department of Children and Families worker at one point, authorities said. Under the new laws, he would not have been released before the Perrywinkle abduction given his previous crimes.