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Protection of Children From Sexual Predators Act of 1998

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National AMBER Alert Network Act of 2003
Summary

(Sec. 2) Requires the Attorney General to assign an AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice to act as the national coordinator of the AMBER Alert communications network regarding abducted children. Requires the coordinator to: (1) seek to eliminate gaps in the network; (2) work with States to encourage the development of additional network elements and to ensure regional coordination; and (3) act as the nationwide point of contact for network development and for regional coordination of alerts on abducted children through the network. Directs the Coordinator to notify and consult with the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning each child abduction for which an AMBER Alert is issued.

(Sec. 3) Directs the Coordinator to establish minimum standards for the issuance of alerts and for the extent of their dissemination (limited to the geographic areas most likely to facilitate the recovery of the abducted child). Provides that the standards shall be adoptable on a voluntary basis only.

Requires the Coordinator to cooperate with the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Communications Commission in carrying out such activities.

(Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of notification or communications systems along highways for alerts and other information for the recovery of abducted children. Includes among permissible activities the development or enhancement of electronic message boards, and the placement of additional signage, along highways. Limits the Federal cost share to 50 percent. Directs the Secretary to ensure grant distribution on an equitable basis throughout the various regions of the United States. Authorizes appropriations.

(Sec. 5) Directs the Attorney General to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of programs and activities for the support of AMBER Alert communications plans, which may include the development and implementation of: (1) education and training programs and associated materials; and (2) law enforcement programs and associated equipment. Limits the Federal cost share to 50 percent. Directs the Secretary to ensure grant distribution on an equitable basis throughout the various regions of the United States. Authorizes appropriations.
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Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003

Prosecutorial Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (PROTECT Act) - (Sec. 3) Amends Federal criminal code provisions regarding child pornography to prohibit: (1) advertising, promoting, distributing, or soliciting in interstate or foreign commerce any material in a manner that reflects the belief or that is intended to cause another to believe that it contains an obscene visual depiction of a minor, or a visual depiction of an actual minor, engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or (2) knowingly offering or providing to a minor any such visual depiction to induce such minor to participate in any illegal activity. Revises provisions governing what constitutes an affirmative defense to: (1) include that the alleged child pornography was not produced using any actual minors; (2) eliminate that the defendant did not promote the material in such a manner as to convey the impression that it is or contains a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and (3) prohibit a defendant from asserting such defense unless specified notice is provided to the court and the United States prior to commencement of the trial.

(Sec. 4) Makes certain information identifying minors depicted in child pornography, other than age, inadmissible and subject to redaction from any otherwise admissible evidence in any prosecution of such an act.

(Sec. 5) Modifies the definition of: (1) "minor" to provide that it shall not be construed to require proof of the actual identity of the person under age 18; (2) "sexually explicit conduct " to include actual or lascivious simulated sexual intercourse, bestiality, masturbation, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person; (3) "child pornography" to include the production of any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct that involves the use of an identifiable minor; and (4) "identifiable minor" to include a computer generated image that is of or is virtually indistinguishable from that of an actual minor and that depicts sexually explicit conduct.

(Sec. 6) Sets penalties for knowingly producing, distributing, receiving, or possessing an obscene visual representation of the sexual abuse of children. Includes a visual depiction of any kind (including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting) that: (1) depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and that is obscene; or (2) depicts an image that is or appears to be of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse, and that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. States explicitly that it is not a required element of the offense that the minor depicted actually exist, but requires that specified circumstances exist (such as that any communication involved in or made in furtherance of the offense is communicated or transported in interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer). Makes it an affirmative defense that the defendant: (1) possessed fewer than three such visual depictions; and (2) promptly and in good faith, and without retaining or allowing any person (other than a law enforcement agency) to access any such depiction, took reasonable steps to destroy each depiction or reported the matter to a law enforcement agency and afforded that agency access to each depiction. Specifies applicable sentencing guidelines.

(Sec. 7) Revises record-keeping requirements to: (1) include digital images of visual depictions; and (2) increase penalties for violations.

(Sec. 8) Amends the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to authorize disclosure of child pornography by an electronic communication service provider to State officials for purposes of enforcing State law.

(Sec. 9) Amends the Federal criminal code to include as an exception to the prohibition against the disclosure of the contents of a communication by an electronic communication service disclosures to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in connection with a report submitted under the Victims of Child Abuse Act.

(Sec. 10) Sets penalties for using or inducing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct outside of the United States to produce any visual depiction of such conduct for transportation to the United States.

(Sec. 11) Authorizes civil remedies, including injunctive relief and punitive damages, for child pornography offenses.

(Sec. 12) Makes persons previously convicted of obscenity eligible for enhanced recidivist penalties for sexual child exploitation.

(Sec. 13) Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, as appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to ensure that guideline penalties are adequate to deter and punish conduct that involves: (1) interstate travel with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a juvenile; and (2) promoting material believed to contain obscene visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

(Sec. 14) Directs the Attorney General to appoint 25 additional trial attorneys for investigation and prosecution of Federal child pornography laws. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Attorney General to report biennially to specified congressional officials on Federal enforcement actions, including an outcome-based measure of performance and an analysis of the technology being used by the child pornography industry.

(Sec. 15) Authorizes the interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications in the investigation of specified sex crimes against children.

(Sec. 16) Modifies provisions regarding administrative subpoenas relating to child pornography to expand the matter required by an electronic communication or remote computing service to be disclosed to a governmental entity to include the means and source of payment for such service, including any credit card or bank account number.
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Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Program Act of 1994

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Megan's Law

In May of 1996, the President took the next step by signing the federal Megan's Law. Megan's Law amends the Wetterling Act to require states to release relevant information concerning registered child molesters and sexually violent offenders when necessary to protect the public.

The Guidelines make it clear that: Back to top



Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996

The Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996 was designed to ensure the nationwide availability of sex offender registration information to law enforcement. This law requires states to transmit sex offender data and fingerprints to the FBI to establish a national database of released sex offenders to track their whereabouts and movement. This initiative will ensure that offenders will be tracked by state authorities and the FBI as they move from state to state. Provisions mandate persons convicted sexual offenses in states that do not have a "minimally sufficient" registration program to register with the FBI a current address, fingerprints, and current photograph. Additionally, the legislation amends the Jacob Wetterling Act by changing the duration of state registration requirement from 10 years to 10 years or life for two categories of offenders: recidivists and aggravated offenders. It is established by 42 USC Sec. 14072 and 42 USC Sec. 14073.
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Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000

On October 28, 2000, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 was signed into law. This new law, which was passed virtually unanimously by both houses of Congress, addresses issues of personal exploitation resulting from trafficking in persons. Victims of "severe trafficking," defined as sex trafficking of persons under 18 years of age, or recruiting or obtaining persons for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, are eligible for public benefits and services regardless of their immigration status. This law is the culmination of the federal government's efforts through the Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force , an interagency group that brings the FBI, INS, Department of Labor and other agencies together to remedy a problem with both domestic and global dimensions, primarily involving women and children as victims.

The Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, which enforces slavery and peonage statutes that were initially enacted over 100 years ago, was highly involved in drafting this new legislation. The new law expands the definition of forced labor to reach the more insidious forms of coercion occurring in contemporary times, thus enabling the Section to come to the aid of more victims and to bring more cases than allowed under prior laws.

Here are some highlights of the new statute as they affect the Criminal Section's enforcement responsibilities: Back to top



Aimee's Law

On October 11, 2000, the Senate passed a series of crime bills (already passed by the House) which included the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 and Aimee's Law. Aimee's Law states that if a murderer, rapist or child molester is released -- either by way of parole or because his sentence is complete (Aimee's Law strongly recommends the death penalty for murder and life sentences for rape and child molestation) -- and then commits a similar crime in a second state, the first state must pay up to $100,000 to the victim (or the victim's estate), and reimburse the second state for the cost of the criminal's apprehension, prosecution, and incarceration. Exemptions will be made for states with truth-in-sentencing laws requiring that convicted criminals serve at least 85% of their sentence. (See 42 USC Sec. 13713)
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The Child Protection and Sexual Predator Punishment Act of 1998

Specifically, The Child Protection and Sexual Predator Punishment Act of 1998:

Criminalizes use of the Internet for those who knowingly
  1. make contact with a person under 18 years of age, or someone representing themselves as under 18; or
  2. send obscene material to a minor or someone who represents themselves as a minor.
The bill provides a penalty including a fine and up to five years imprisonment for these offenses, doubles the maximum prison sentence from 5 to 10 years for enticing a minor to travel across State lines to engage in illegal sexual activity and increases the maximum prison sentence from 10 to 15 years for persuading a minor to engage in prostitution or a sexual act. Additionally, it provides a minimum sentence of two years for possession of large quantities of defined as 50 or more images of or items containing child pornography.
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The Sexual Exploitation of Children Act of 1977

The law prohibits the use of a minor in the making of pornography, the transport of a child across state lines, the taking of a pornographic picture of a minor, and the production and circulation of materials advertising child pornography. It also prohibits the transfer, sale, purchase, and receipt of minors when the purpose of such transfer, sale, purchase, or receipt is to use the child or youth in the production of child pornography. The transportation, importation, shipment, and receipt of child pornography by any interstate means, including by mail or computer, is also prohibited.(*ncmec)
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The Child Protection Act of 1984

defines anyone younger than the age of 18 as a child. Therefore, a sexually explicit photograph of anyone 17 years of age or younger is child pornography. (*ncmec)
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The Child Sexual Abuse and Pornography Act of 1986

banned the production and use of advertisements for child pornography and included a provision for civil remedies of personal injuries suffered by a minor who is a victim. It also raised the minimum sentences for repeat offenders from imprisonment of not less than two years to imprisonment of not less than five years. (*ncmec)
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The Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988

The law prohibits the use of a minor in the making of pornography, the transport of a child across state lines, the taking of a pornographic picture of a minor, and the production and circulation of materials advertising child pornography. It also prohibits the transfer, sale, purchase, and receipt of minors when the purpose of such transfer, sale, purchase, or receipt is to use the child or youth in the production of child pornography. The transportation, importation, shipment, and receipt of child pornography by any interstate means, including by mail or computer, is also prohibited. (*ncmec)
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The Telecommunications Act of 1996

it is a federal crime for anyone using the mail, interstate or foreign commerce, to persuade, induce, or entice any individual younger than the age of 18 to engage in any sexual act for which the person may be criminally prosecuted. (*ncmec)
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The Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996

amends the definition of child pornography to include that which actually depicts the sexual conduct of real minor children and that which appears to be a depiction of a minor engaging in sexual conduct. Computer, photographic, and photocopy technology is amazingly competent at creating and altering images that have been “morphed” to look like children even though those photographed may have actually been adults. People who alter pornographic images to look like children can now be prosecuted under the law. (*ncmec)
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