The mother behind Joan's Law and her family are anxiously awaiting the announcement of whether Joan D'Alessandro's killer will be paroled.

Rosemarie D'Alessandro testified for the fourth time in 15 years to keep Joseph McGowan in prison. Following her testimony, D'Alessandro was joined by others for a protest outside the courthouse.

D'Alessandro's 7-year-old daughter Joan was raped and murdered nearly 35 years ago. After the young girl's death, the grieving mother helped create a now federal law that mandates a life sentence for sexual predators charged with murdering children younger than 14.

Joan's Law went into effect in 1998. McGowan was convicted prior to that and spared a life sentence.

The D'Alessandro family says they are praying the parole board will do the right thing and deny parole.

An announcement on McGowan's parole hearing could take months.

Joan's Law founder to testify against parole for killer