Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
House Judiciary Committee Approves Bill to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation
RECOMMENDED: http://twitter.com/GrierWeekshttp://judiciary.house.gov/news/07102012.html
Committee Approves Bill to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation
For Immediate Release
July 10, 2012
Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved the Child Protection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6063) by voice vote. Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chief sponsor of the bill, praised the Committee vote.
Chairman Smith: “Today Internet child pornography may be the fastest growing crime in America, increasing an average of 150% per year. Every day online criminals prey on our children with virtual anonymity. And according to recent estimates, there are as many as 100,000 sex offenders in the U.S. whose whereabouts are still unknown.
“I am pleased that the Committee passed the Child Protection Act of 2012, which provides law enforcement officials with important tools and additional resources to combat the growing threat of child pornography and exploitation. We must ensure that investigators have every available resource to track down predators and protect the weakest among us.
“This bill makes sure that paperwork does not stand in the way of protecting our kids. It gives the U.S. Marshals tasked with tracking down these predators the legal tools they need, and it helps prevent more victims by raising the penalties for those who hurt our children.”
Background: H.R. 6063 is a bipartisan bill that increases the maximum penalties from 10 to 20 years for child pornography offenses that involve prepubescent children or children under the age of 12. The bill strengthens protections for child witnesses and victims, who are often subjected to harassment and intimidation throughout the trial process.
The Child Protection Act also extends the authorization of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces for five years and increases the cap on grant funds for ICAC training programs.
Lastly, the bill improves the ability of the U.S. Marshals Service to apprehend fugitive sex offenders by giving them express administrative subpoena authority — only for fugitive investigations of unregistered sex offenders. The bill has 31 additional cosponsors.
H.R. 6063 is supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Major City Chiefs of Police, the Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN), and PROTECT, among other groups.
Chairman Smith’s full statement and a list of supporters can be found here: http://judiciary.house.gov/news/HR%206063.html
Committee Approves Bill to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation
For Immediate Release
July 10, 2012
Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved the Child Protection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6063) by voice vote. Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chief sponsor of the bill, praised the Committee vote.
Chairman Smith: “Today Internet child pornography may be the fastest growing crime in America, increasing an average of 150% per year. Every day online criminals prey on our children with virtual anonymity. And according to recent estimates, there are as many as 100,000 sex offenders in the U.S. whose whereabouts are still unknown.
“I am pleased that the Committee passed the Child Protection Act of 2012, which provides law enforcement officials with important tools and additional resources to combat the growing threat of child pornography and exploitation. We must ensure that investigators have every available resource to track down predators and protect the weakest among us.
“This bill makes sure that paperwork does not stand in the way of protecting our kids. It gives the U.S. Marshals tasked with tracking down these predators the legal tools they need, and it helps prevent more victims by raising the penalties for those who hurt our children.”
Background: H.R. 6063 is a bipartisan bill that increases the maximum penalties from 10 to 20 years for child pornography offenses that involve prepubescent children or children under the age of 12. The bill strengthens protections for child witnesses and victims, who are often subjected to harassment and intimidation throughout the trial process.
The Child Protection Act also extends the authorization of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces for five years and increases the cap on grant funds for ICAC training programs.
Lastly, the bill improves the ability of the U.S. Marshals Service to apprehend fugitive sex offenders by giving them express administrative subpoena authority — only for fugitive investigations of unregistered sex offenders. The bill has 31 additional cosponsors.
H.R. 6063 is supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Major City Chiefs of Police, the Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN), and PROTECT, among other groups.
Chairman Smith’s full statement and a list of supporters can be found here: http://judiciary.house.gov/news/HR%206063.html
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/Markups%202012/mark_07102012.html
Full Committee Markup of:
H.R. 3796, the "Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2012";
<...>
H.R. 6063, the "Child Protection Act of 2012";
Tuesday, July 10, 2012 10:00 a.m. 2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Watch video webcast
7/10/2012 Markup Transcript
Full Committee Markup of:
H.R. 3796, the "Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2012";
<...>
H.R. 6063, the "Child Protection Act of 2012";
Tuesday, July 10, 2012 10:00 a.m. 2141 Rayburn House Office Building
Watch video webcast
7/10/2012 Markup Transcript
http://judiciary.house.gov/news/HR%206063.html
Statement of Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith Full Committee Markup of H.R. 6063, the Child Protection Act of 2012
For Immediate Release
July 10, 2012
Statement of Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith
Full Committee Markup of
H.R. 6063, the Child Protection Act of 2012
Chairman Smith: Trafficking of child pornography images was almost completely eradicated in America by the mid-1980s. Purchasing or trading these images was risky and almost impossible to do anonymously. But the advent of the Internet reversed this accomplishment.
Today Internet child pornography may be the fastest growing crime in America, increasing an average of 150% per year.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed more than 51 million child pornography images and videos in the hopes of identifying the victims in them.
These images of children being sexually assaulted are crime scene photos – and each face represents a child in desperate need of help.
Every day these online criminals prey on our children with virtual anonymity. And according to recent estimates, there are as many as 100,000 sex offenders in the U.S. whose whereabouts are still unknown.
I and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz introduced H.R. 6063, the Child Protection Act of 2012, to provide law enforcement officials with important tools and additional resources to combat the growing threat of child pornography and exploitation.
H.R. 6063 increases the maximum penalties from 10 to 20 years for child pornography offenses that involve prepubescent children or children under the age of 12. And it strengthens protections for child witnesses and victims, who are often subjected to harassment and intimidation throughout the trial process.
The bill allows a federal court to issue a protective order if it determines that a child victim or witness is being harassed or intimidated and imposes criminal penalties for violation of a protective order.
This bill ensures that paperwork does not stand in the way of protecting our kids. It gives the U.S. Marshals—the federal agency tasked by Congress under the Adam Walsh Act with apprehending fugitive sex offenders—administrative subpoena authority. We must ensure that investigators have every available resource to track down these predators and protect the weakest among us.
The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force program is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces that represent over 3,000 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies dedicated to child exploitation investigations.
The ICAC Task Forces were launched in 1998 and officially authorized by Congress in the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008.
Since 1998, the ICAC Task Forces have reviewed more than 280,000 complaints of alleged child sexual abuse and have arrested more than 30,000 individuals. In Fiscal Year 2011, the ICAC program trained over 31,000 law enforcement personnel, over 2,800 prosecutors, and more than 11,000 other professionals that work in the ICAC field.
The Child Protection Act extends the authorization of the ICAC Task Forces for five years and increases the cap on grant funds for ICAC training programs.
The bill also makes several additional clarifications to provisions enacted as a part of the PROTECT Our Children Act and requests a report from the Justice Department on implementation of the National Internet Crimes Against Children Data System.
The bill has broad bipartisan support in Congress and is supported by a number of outside organizations, which include:
Statement of Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith Full Committee Markup of H.R. 6063, the Child Protection Act of 2012
For Immediate Release
July 10, 2012
Statement of Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith
Full Committee Markup of
H.R. 6063, the Child Protection Act of 2012
Chairman Smith: Trafficking of child pornography images was almost completely eradicated in America by the mid-1980s. Purchasing or trading these images was risky and almost impossible to do anonymously. But the advent of the Internet reversed this accomplishment.
Today Internet child pornography may be the fastest growing crime in America, increasing an average of 150% per year.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed more than 51 million child pornography images and videos in the hopes of identifying the victims in them.
These images of children being sexually assaulted are crime scene photos – and each face represents a child in desperate need of help.
Every day these online criminals prey on our children with virtual anonymity. And according to recent estimates, there are as many as 100,000 sex offenders in the U.S. whose whereabouts are still unknown.
I and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz introduced H.R. 6063, the Child Protection Act of 2012, to provide law enforcement officials with important tools and additional resources to combat the growing threat of child pornography and exploitation.
H.R. 6063 increases the maximum penalties from 10 to 20 years for child pornography offenses that involve prepubescent children or children under the age of 12. And it strengthens protections for child witnesses and victims, who are often subjected to harassment and intimidation throughout the trial process.
The bill allows a federal court to issue a protective order if it determines that a child victim or witness is being harassed or intimidated and imposes criminal penalties for violation of a protective order.
This bill ensures that paperwork does not stand in the way of protecting our kids. It gives the U.S. Marshals—the federal agency tasked by Congress under the Adam Walsh Act with apprehending fugitive sex offenders—administrative subpoena authority. We must ensure that investigators have every available resource to track down these predators and protect the weakest among us.
The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force program is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces that represent over 3,000 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies dedicated to child exploitation investigations.
The ICAC Task Forces were launched in 1998 and officially authorized by Congress in the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008.
Since 1998, the ICAC Task Forces have reviewed more than 280,000 complaints of alleged child sexual abuse and have arrested more than 30,000 individuals. In Fiscal Year 2011, the ICAC program trained over 31,000 law enforcement personnel, over 2,800 prosecutors, and more than 11,000 other professionals that work in the ICAC field.
The Child Protection Act extends the authorization of the ICAC Task Forces for five years and increases the cap on grant funds for ICAC training programs.
The bill also makes several additional clarifications to provisions enacted as a part of the PROTECT Our Children Act and requests a report from the Justice Department on implementation of the National Internet Crimes Against Children Data System.
The bill has broad bipartisan support in Congress and is supported by a number of outside organizations, which include:
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children;
The Major City Chiefs of Police;
Futures Without Violence;
The Fraternal Order of Police;
The International Association of Chiefs of Police;
The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence;
The National District Attorneys Association;
The National White Collar Crime Center (NWC3);
The National Sheriffs’ Association;
The Surviving Parents Coalition;
The Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN); and
PROTECT.
Florida Council Against Sexual Violence
Jewish Women International
Men Can Stop Rape
National Criminal Justice Training Center at Fox Valley Technical College
Texas Association Against Sexual Assault
California Protective Parents Association
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
http://protect.org/
Protect
Louis Freeh was Director of the FBI from 1993-2001. Last November, he was hired by the Penn State Board of Trustees to conduct an independent investigation into the Sandusky scandal. Yesterday, the Freeh Report was released. You can read the entire report--and watch or read Freeh's comments about it--here > http://thefreehreportonpsu.com/ (Photo: Partial list of Coach Sandusky's retirement requests, from the Freeh Report)
[img]
[/img]
3 hours ago
Protect
Louis Freeh was Director of the FBI from 1993-2001. Last November, he was hired by the Penn State Board of Trustees to conduct an independent investigation into the Sandusky scandal. Yesterday, the Freeh Report was released. You can read the entire report--and watch or read Freeh's comments about it--here > http://thefreehreportonpsu.com/ (Photo: Partial list of Coach Sandusky's retirement requests, from the Freeh Report)
[img]
[/img]
3 hours ago
http://protect.org/
Protect
How do we measure success? By the number of child predators arrested and children rescued. None of that can happen without actual cops.... front line heroes in a war for human rights. This month, after our hard-fought Alicia’s Law battle in Richmond, 35 Virginia localities got new funding to boost to their departments for online anti-child exploitation investigations. Over the next year, the results will be measured in lives saved. We won't tell you exactly where... we want the bad guys to be surprised.
July 6 at 6:16am
Protect
How do we measure success? By the number of child predators arrested and children rescued. None of that can happen without actual cops.... front line heroes in a war for human rights. This month, after our hard-fought Alicia’s Law battle in Richmond, 35 Virginia localities got new funding to boost to their departments for online anti-child exploitation investigations. Over the next year, the results will be measured in lives saved. We won't tell you exactly where... we want the bad guys to be surprised.
July 6 at 6:16am
http://protect.org/
Protect
Wow, 55 shares on the child rescue map so far. THANKS to everyone for spreading it! This is the war we're in. Our government will not go arrest those predators and rescue their child victims unless we *force* them to. That's why PROTECT exists. For those with more questions about this crisis, you might check out our white paper on declaring a state of emergency. You can find it here: http://www.protect.org/emergency/1544
Protect
Wow, 55 shares on the child rescue map so far. THANKS to everyone for spreading it! This is the war we're in. Our government will not go arrest those predators and rescue their child victims unless we *force* them to. That's why PROTECT exists. For those with more questions about this crisis, you might check out our white paper on declaring a state of emergency. You can find it here: http://www.protect.org/emergency/1544
http://www.protect.org/emergency/1544
The Case for Declaring a State of Emergency to Locate and Rescue American Children from Imminent Harm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Association to Protect Children White Paper
Updated November 2011
[img]
[/img]
Law enforcement map introduced into evidence before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2008. Red dots represent the locations of computers or clusters of computers seen trafficking in child abuse images. The U.S. Justice Department, FBI and other law enforcement witnesses testified there are hundreds of thousands of individuals in the U.S. trafficking in child pornography. Conservative estimates indicate at least 1 in 3 of these suspects is a hands-on offender with local child victims. Abundant evidence indicates which ones they are, enabling law enforcement to zero in on the locations of child victims.
The Case for Declaring a State of Emergency to Locate and Rescue American Children from Imminent Harm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Association to Protect Children White Paper
Updated November 2011
[img]
[/img]
Law enforcement map introduced into evidence before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2008. Red dots represent the locations of computers or clusters of computers seen trafficking in child abuse images. The U.S. Justice Department, FBI and other law enforcement witnesses testified there are hundreds of thousands of individuals in the U.S. trafficking in child pornography. Conservative estimates indicate at least 1 in 3 of these suspects is a hands-on offender with local child victims. Abundant evidence indicates which ones they are, enabling law enforcement to zero in on the locations of child victims.
http://protect.org/
Protect
Only yesterday, humans who preyed on children hid in the shadows. It seemed everyone wanted children to "come forward and tell." Today, that’s all changed. This law enforcement map--introduced as evidence in Congressional hearings—shows 100s of 1,000s of criminals trafficking in child abuse images. At least 1 in 3 is a hands-on abuser! Most will continue to hurt children unless we force our government to act.
[img]
[/img]
July 5 at 5:28am
Protect
Only yesterday, humans who preyed on children hid in the shadows. It seemed everyone wanted children to "come forward and tell." Today, that’s all changed. This law enforcement map--introduced as evidence in Congressional hearings—shows 100s of 1,000s of criminals trafficking in child abuse images. At least 1 in 3 is a hands-on abuser! Most will continue to hurt children unless we force our government to act.
[img]
[/img]
July 5 at 5:28am
