[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CHILD PROTECTION AND SEXUAL PREDATOR PUNISHMENT ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. RON KLINK

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 11, 1998

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3494) to 
     amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to violent 
     sex crimes against children, and for other purposes:

  Mr. KLINK. Mr. Chairman, I think this is good legislation that will 
protect our children and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I am pleased that the problem of pedophiles using the Internet to 
prey upon innocent children is finally receiving the attention it 
deserves.
  I first became concerned about this issue when, as a television 
reporter in Pennsylvania, I discovered that the police were pursuing a 
well-organized, high-tech ring of computer pedophiles. This pedophile 
ring had compiled information on techniques and locations for preying 
on children in cities all across the country.
  Since my election to Congress, I have been working to protect 
children on the Internet. My Pennsylvania colleague, John Murtha  and I 
met with local and State law enforcement officials, the Department of 
Justice Child Exploitation Division, and representatives of family 
groups to discuss what to do about this growing problem.
  In particular, I remember meeting with Al Olsen, a police chief from 
Warwick Township, PA, one of the few people in the country working on 
the problem of Internet pedophiles at that time. He told us about a 
California man who used computer bulletin boards to lure youthful rape 
victims to his home. This same man was using the Internet to brag about 
what he was doing.
  It was clear to us that pedophiles had evolved from preying on 
children at the school yards and playgrounds to preying on them on the 
Internet and that law enforcement needed new tools to catch up.
  Finally, this legislation moves against that threat. It makes it a 
Federal crime to use the Internet to contact a minor for the purpose of 
illegal sexual activity. This is stricter than current law, which 
requires prosecutors to prove that the victim was persuaded.
  The bill also makes it a Federal offense to use the Internet to 
knowingly transport obscene material to a minor, whether within a State 
or across State lines.
  These new provisions will provide law enforcement with much-needed 
tools to combat the growing problem of pedophiles on the Internet.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3494.

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