[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 113 (Tuesday, September 10, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8458-S8462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Hutchinson, Mrs. 
        Hutchison, Mr. Sessions, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. 
        Grassley, and Ms. Landrieu):
  S. 2917. A bill to enhance national efforts to investigate, 
prosecute, and prevent crimes against children by increasing 
investigatory tools, criminal penalties, and resources and by extending 
existing laws; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, this summer we were all devastated by the 
repeated news flashes reporting violent crimes against children across 
our Nation. In June, Elizabeth Smart, a 14 year old from my home town 
of Salt Lake City, UT, was kidnapped at gun point from her home. To 
date, neither Elizabeth nor her abductor has been found.
  In July, five-year-old Samantha Runnion was kidnapped while playing 
with a neighborhood friend down the street from her home in Stanton, 
CA. The following day, her body was found along a highway, nearly 50 
miles from her home. California authorities have charged a man, who 
reportedly was acquitted just 2 years ago of molesting two girls under 
the age of 14, with Runnion's abduction, sexual assault and murder.
  Elizabeth Smart and Samantha Runnion are just two, among many, recent 
child victims. The list of tragic cases goes on and on.
  These horrific incidents illustrate the need for comprehensive 
legislation, at both the State and national level, to protect our 
children. We need to ensure that our law enforcement officers have all 
the tools and resources they need to find, prosecute, and punish those 
who commit crimes against our children.
  Earlier this year, with Senators Leahy, Sessions, Hutchinson, 
Brownback, Edwards and DeWine, I introduced S. 2520, the ``PROTECT Act 
of 2002''. This bill plugged a loophole that existed as a result of a 
recent Supreme Court decision which struck down key provisions in the 
``Child Pornography Prevention Act,'' which I authored and Congress 
passed in 1996. Among other things, the PROTECT Act prevents child 
pornographers from escaping prosecution by claiming that their sexually 
explicit material did not involve real children. Where child 
pornography includes persons who appear virtually indistinguishable 
from actual minors, prosecutions can still occur unless a defendant 
shows that the pornography did not involve a minor.
  Today I rise to introduce with my colleagues, Senators Feinstein, 
Hutchinson, Hutchison, Sessions, DeWine, Thurmond and Grassley, the 
``Comprehensive Child Protection Act of 2002,'' which enhances child 
crime prosecutions, investigatory tools, penalties and resources in a 
variety of ways. For the record, I will submit a section by section 
summary of the bill, but allow me to comment briefly on some of the 
bill's specific provisions.
  First, and most significantly, the bill creates a National Crimes 
Against Children Response Center. The recent series of tragic events 
involving child victims has convinced me that we need to take a more 
proactive approach to prevent, deter and prosecute child predators 
of all types, abusers, molesters, pornographers and traffickers. And at 
the same time, we need to provide our children, the vulnerable victims 
of such predators, with the support systems they need to recover fully 
from such horrendous crimes and to assist law enforcement in 
effectively investigating and prosecuting these crimes.

  To this end, our bill directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation to 
establish a National Response Center whose primary mission will be to 
develop a comprehensive and rapid response plan to reported crimes 
involving the victimization of children. While the Center is to be 
established by the FBI in consultation with the Deputy Assistant 
Attorney General for the new Department of Justice Crimes Against 
Children Section created by the bill, it will integrate the resources 
and expertise of other Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
agencies, as well as other child services professionals. By forming and 
training rapid response teams comprised of Federal, State and local 
prosecutors, investigators, victim witness specialists, mental health 
and other child services professionals, the Center will greatly enhance 
our national response and prevention efforts. The combination of 
valuable expertise and resources provided by such multi-jurisdictional 
and multi-disciplinary partnerships will increase the likelihood that 
law enforcement authorities will successfully identify, prosecute and 
punish child predators, and that child services professionals will 
provide child victims with much needed support.
  Second, this legislation tasks the new Crimes Against Children 
Section with creating an Internet site that will consolidate sex 
offender information which States currently release under the Federal 
reporting act. The bill also directs States that have not developed 
Internet sites to do so. The creation of a national Internet site will 
enable concerned citizens to find in one, easily accessible place, 
critical information about sexual predators.
  Currently, all 50 States have statutes that require sex offenders to 
register and share information with the United States Attorney General 
through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and over 30 States make 
offender information available to the public on the Internet. A 
national Internet site will enhance the public's ability to find and 
access information that is already available in the public record, and 
will protect citizens in states where sex offenders travel or move, 
often to avoid detection. In short, the national Internet site will 
provide parents and other concerned citizens with essential information 
about the whereabouts and backgrounds of child abusers, so they can 
take all necessary steps to protect our Nation's children.
  Third, the bill enhances the ability of federal prosecutors to bring 
and successfully prosecute cases involving children predators in 
several ways:
  The legislation extends the statute of limitations period that 
applies to offenses involving the sexual or physical abuse of children 
by permitting such cases to be brought up until the date the minor 
reaches age 35, as opposed to age 25 as the law currently provides. I 
believe that there should rarely, if ever, be a time when we say to a 
victim who has suffered as a child at the hands of an abuser: you have 
identified your abuser; you have proven the crime; yet the abuser will 
remain free because you, the victim, waited too long to come forward. 
Our criminal justice system should be ready to adjudicate all 
meritorious claims of child abuse. Abusers should not benefit from the 
lasting psychological harms they inflict on innocent children. This 
provision is meant to recognize that the arm of the law should be long 
in the prosecution of crimes of this heinous nature.

  The bill also amends an existing Federal evidentiary rule, Federal 
Rule of Evidence 414, to permit the admission into evidence of prior 
offenses involving child molestation or the possession of sexually 
explicit materials containing minors. The current evidentiary rule 
permits such evidence to be admitted only where the victim is under 14 
years of age. This amendment extends the rule to apply to any victim 
who is under 18 years of age at the time of the offense. This amendment 
also makes clear that even where an individual possesses what may be 
virtual, as opposed to actual, child pornography, such evidence is 
admissible under Rule 414.
  This legislation limits the scope of the common law marital 
privileges by making them inapplicable in a criminal case in which a 
spouse stands accused of abusing a child in the home. Where a spouse is 
charged with abusing a child of either spouse, or a child under the 
custody or control of either spouse, neither the abuser nor his or her 
spouse should be permitted to invoke a marital privilege to avoid 
providing critical evidence in a criminal proceeding.
  Fourth, the bill enhances tools that are used to investigate child 
crimes. It expands the class of offenses that are included in the 
Combined DNA Index System, CODIS, by adding to the system all federal 
felony offenses and

[[Page S8459]]

other designated federal and state sexual offenses that subject Federal 
offenders to sex registration requirements. This extension will 
increase law enforcement's ability to solve crimes where DNA evidence 
is found.
  The bill also extends the Federal wiretap statute by adding 
additional sex exploitation offenses, as well as sex trafficking and 
other interstate sex offenses, to the statute's list of predicate 
offenses. As we all know, the Internet is becoming an increasingly 
popular means by which sexual predators make contact with child 
victims. Predators frequently initiate relationships with children 
online, but later seek to make personal contact with the child, either 
over the telephone or through face to face meetings. But as the law 
exists today, law enforcement authorities are restricted in their 
ability to investigate such predators. This amendment will not only aid 
investigators in obtaining evidence of such crimes, it will also help 
stop these crimes before a sexual predator makes contact with a child. 
To obtain a wiretap, law enforcement authorities will still need to 
meet the strict statutory guidelines of the wiretap statute and obtain 
authorization from a court. Thus, the legislation will not undermine 
the legitimate expectations of privacy of law-abiding Americans.
  Fifth, this legislation will strengthen criminal penalties by 
extending the supervised release period that applies to child and sex 
offenders, increasing the maximum penalties that apply to offenses 
involving transportation for illegal sexual activity, and directing the 
United States Sentencing Commission to consider enhancing the 
sentencing guidelines that apply to criminal offenses with which child 
predators are frequently charged.
  In particular, the bill grants Federal judges the discretion to 
impose up to lifetime periods of supervised release for individuals who 
are convicted of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, transportation for 
illegal sexual activity, and sex trafficking offenses. Under current 
law, a judge can impose no more than 5 years of supervised release for 
a serious felony, and no more than 3 years for a lesser categorized 
offense. This amendment does not require the judge to impose a period 
of supervised release longer than 5 years; it simply authorizes a judge 
to do so where the nature and circumstances of the case justify a 
longer supervised release period.
  In my view, if there is any class of offenders on which our criminal 
justice system should keep a close eye, it is sexual predators. It is 
well documented that sex offenders are more likely than other violent 
criminals to commit future crimes. And if there is any class of victims 
we should seek to protect from repeat offenders, it is those who have 
been sexually assaulted. They suffer tremendous physical, emotional and 
psychological injuries. By ensuring that egregious sexual offenders are 
supervised for longer periods of time, we will increase the chance that 
they will be deterred from and punished for future criminal acts.
  In addition to increasing the maximum penalties that apply to certain 
offenses that involve the trafficking of children or other interstate 
elements, the bill directs the United States Sentencing commission to 
review the sentencing guidelines that apply to various federal offenses 
that are used to prosecute kidnappers, sexual abusers and exploiters to 
ensure that the sentences for these crimes are sufficiently severe 
where aggravating circumstances exist, such as where the victim was 
abducted, injured, killed, or abused by more than one person.
  The ``Comprehensive Child Protection Act of 2002'' will enhance our 
ability to combat crimes against children, but it is by no means an 
end. Congress needs to continue to explore additional ways in which we 
can improve our ability on a national level to protect our children. 
Our children fall victim to many of the same crimes we face as adults, 
and they are also subject crimes that are specific to childhood, like 
child abuse and neglect. The effects of such heinous crimes are 
devastating and often lead to an intergenerational cycle of violence 
and abuse.
  I want to do all I can to ensure that we devote the same intensity of 
purpose to crimes committed against children, as we do to other serious 
criminal offenses, such as those involving terrorism. We have no 
greater resource than our children. I invite the Department of Justice, 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other entities and 
professionals who are charged with protecting our children to work with 
me to improve our federal laws and to assist States in doing the same.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and a section-by-
section summary analysis of S. 2917 be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2917

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Comprehensive Child 
     Protection Act of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN RESPONSE CENTER.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 33 of title 28, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 540A. National Crimes Against Children Response Center

       ``(a) Establishment.--There is established within the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigation a National Crimes Against 
     Children Response Center (referred to in this section as the 
     `Center').
       ``(b) Mission.--The mission of the Center is to develop a 
     national response plan model that--
       ``(1) provides a comprehensive, rapid response plan to 
     report crimes involving the victimization of children; and
       ``(2) protects children from future crimes.
       ``(c) Duties.--To carry out the mission described in 
     subsection (b), the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation shall--
       ``(1) consult with the Deputy Assistant Attorney General 
     for the Crimes Against Children Office and other child crime 
     coordinators within the Department of Justice;
       ``(2) consolidate units within the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation that investigate crimes against children, 
     including abductions, abuse, and sexual exploitation 
     offenses;
       ``(3) develop a comprehensive, rapid response plan for 
     crimes involving children that incorporates resources and 
     expertise from Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
     agencies and child services professionals;
       ``(4) develop a national strategy to prevent crimes against 
     children that shall include a plan to rescue children who are 
     identified in child pornography images as victims of abuse;
       ``(5) create regional rapid response teams composed of 
     Federal, State, and local prosecutors, investigators, victim 
     witness specialists, mental health professionals, and other 
     child services professionals;
       ``(6) implement an advanced training program that will 
     enhance the ability of Federal, State, and local entities to 
     respond to reported crimes against children and protect 
     children from future crimes; and
       ``(7) conduct outreach efforts to raise awareness and 
     educate communities about crimes against children.
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated for the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
     such sums as necessary for fiscal year 2003 to carry out this 
     section.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 33 of title 28, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

``540A. National Crimes Against Children Response Center.''.

     SEC. 3. INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION CONCERNING 
                   REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS.

       (a) In General.--Section 170101(e)(2) of the Violent Crime 
     Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 
     14071(e)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
     ``The release of information under this paragraph shall 
     include the maintenance of an Internet site containing such 
     information that is available to the public.''.
       (b) Compliance Date.--Each State shall implement the 
     amendment made by this section within 3 years after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, except that the Attorney General 
     may grant an additional 2 years to a State that is making a 
     good faith effort to implement the amendment made by this 
     section.
       (c) National Internet Site.--The Crimes Against Children 
     Section of the Department of Justice shall create a national 
     Internet site that links all State Internet sites established 
     pursuant to this section.

     SEC. 4. DNA EVIDENCE.

       Section 3(d) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 
     2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135a(d)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(d) Qualifying Federal Offense.--For purposes of this 
     section, the term `qualifying Federal offense' means--
       ``(1) any offense classified as a felony under Federal law;
       ``(2) any offense under chapter 109A of title 18, United 
     States Code;
       ``(3) any crime of violence as that term is defined in 
     section 16 of title 18, United States Code; or
       ``(4) any offense within the scope of section 4042(c)(4) of 
     title 18, United States Code.''.

[[Page S8460]]

     SEC. 5. INCREASE OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR CHILD ABUSE 
                   OFFENSES.

       Section 3283 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``25 years'' and inserting ``35 years''.

     SEC. 6. ADMISSIBILITY OF SIMILAR CRIME EVIDENCE IN CHILD 
                   MOLESTATION CASES.

       Rule 414 of the Federal Rules of Evidence is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``or possession of 
     sexually explicit materials containing apparent minors'' 
     after ``or offenses of child molestation''; and
       (2) in subsection (d), by striking ``fourteen'' and 
     inserting ``18''.

     SEC. 7. MARITAL COMMUNICATION AND ADVERSE SPOUSAL PRIVILEGE.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 119 of title 28, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting after section 1826 the 
     following:

     ``Sec. 1826A. Marital communications and adverse spousal 
       privilege

       ``The confidential marital communication privilege and the 
     adverse spousal privilege shall be inapplicable in any 
     Federal proceeding in which a spouse is charged with a crime 
     against--
       ``(1) a child of either spouse; or
       ``(2) a child under the custody or control of either 
     spouse.''.
       (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 119 of title 28, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1826 
     the following:

``1826A. Marital communications and adverse spousal privilege.''.

     SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF INTERCEPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS IN 
                   THE INVESTIGATION OF SEXUAL CRIMES AND OTHER 
                   CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN.

       Section 2516(1)(c) of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) by inserting ``section 1591 (sex trafficking of 
     children or by force, fraud, or coercion)'' after ``section 
     1511 (obstruction of State or local law enforcement),''; and
       (2) by inserting ``section 2251A (selling or buying of 
     children), section 2252A (relating to material constituting 
     or containing child pornography), section 2260 (production of 
     sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into 
     the United States), sections 2421, 2422, 2423, and 2425 
     (relating to transportation for illegal sexual activity and 
     related crimes),'' after ``sections 2251 and 2252 (sexual 
     exploitation of children),''.

     SEC. 9. INCREASE OF MAXIMUM SUPERVISED RELEASE TERM FOR SEX 
                   OFFENDERS.

       Section 3583 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(k) Supervised Release Terms for Sex Offenders.--
     Notwithstanding subsection (b), the authorized term of 
     supervised release for any offense under chapter 109A, 110, 
     117, section 1201 involving a minor victim, or section 1591 
     is any term of years or life.''.

     SEC. 10. INCREASE OF MAXIMUM PENALTIES FOR SEX OFFENSES.

       Title 18, United States Code, is amended--
       (1) in section 1591(b)(2), by striking ``20 years'' and 
     inserting ``40 years'';
       (2) in section 2421, by striking ``10 years'' and inserting 
     ``20 years'';
       (3) in section 2422--
       (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``10 years'' and 
     inserting ``20 years''; and
       (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``15 years'' and 
     inserting ``30 years'';
       (4) in section 2423--
       (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``15 years'' and 
     inserting ``30 years''; and
       (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``15 years'' and 
     inserting ``30 years''; and
       (5) in section 2425, by striking ``5 years'' and inserting 
     ``10 years''.

     SEC. 11. DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR CRIMES AGAINST 
                   CHILDREN.

       (a) Establishment of Position.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 31 of title 28, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting after section 507 the 
     following:

     ``Sec. 507A. Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Crimes 
       Against Children

       ``(a) The Attorney General shall appoint a Deputy Assistant 
     Attorney General for Crimes Against Children.
       ``(b) The Deputy Assistant Attorney General shall be the 
     head of the Crimes Against Children Section (CACS) of the 
     Department of Justice.
       ``(c) The duties of the Deputy Assistant Attorney General 
     shall include the following:
       ``(1) To prosecute cases involving crimes against children.
       ``(2) To advise Federal prosecutors and law enforcement 
     personnel regarding crimes against children.
       ``(3) To provide guidance and assistance to Federal, State, 
     and local law enforcement agencies and personnel, and 
     appropriate foreign entities, regarding responses to crimes 
     against children.
       ``(4) To propose and comment upon legislation concerning 
     crimes against children.
       ``(5) Such other duties as the Attorney General may 
     require, including duties carried out by the head of the 
     Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and the Terrorism 
     and Violent Crime Section of the Department of Justice.''.
       (2) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of 
     sections for chapter 31 of title 28, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 507 
     the following:

``507A. Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Crimes Against 
              Children.''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations for CACS.--There is 
     authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Justice 
     for fiscal year 2003, such sums as necessary to carry out 
     this section.

     SEC. 12. DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.

       (a) In General.--Pursuant to its authority under section 
     994(p) of title 18, United States Code, and in accordance 
     with this section, the United States Sentencing Commission 
     shall review the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and policy 
     statements relating to child abuse and exploitation offenses, 
     including United States Sentencing Guideline sections 2A3.1, 
     2A3.2, 2A3.3, 2A3.4, 2A4.1, 2G1.1, 2G2.1, 2G2.2, 2G2.3, 
     2G2.4, and 2G3.1 to determine whether those sections are 
     sufficiently severe.
       (b) Considerations.--In reviewing the Federal Sentencing 
     Guidelines in accordance with subsection (a), the United 
     States Sentencing Commission shall consider whether the 
     guidelines are adequate where--
       (1) the victim had not attained the age of 12 years, or had 
     not attained the age of 16 years;
       (2) the victim died, or sustained permanent, life-
     threatening or serious injury as a result of the criminal 
     act;
       (3) the victim was abducted;
       (4) the victim was abused by more than 1 participant;
       (5) the offense involved more than 1 victim;
       (6) the ability of the victim to appraise or control his or 
     her conduct was substantially impaired;
       (7) the offense involved a large number of visual 
     depictions, including multiple images of the same victim; and
       (8) the offense involved material that portrays sadistic or 
     masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence.
                                  ____


             ``Comprehensive Child Protection Act of 2002''

       Section 1. Title--The Comprehensive Child Protection Act of 
     2002.
       Section 2. Creates a National Crimes Against Children 
     Response Center--The bill directs the Federal Bureau of 
     Investigation to establish a National Crimes Against Children 
     Response Center whose primary mission will be to develop a 
     comprehensive and rapid response plan to reported crimes 
     involving the victimization of children. While the National 
     Response Center is to be established by the FBI, in 
     consultation with the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for 
     the Crimes Against Children Office, it will integrate the 
     resources and expertise of other Federal, State and local law 
     enforcement agencies, as well as other child services 
     professionals. By creating and training rapid response teams 
     comprised of Federal, State and local prosecutors, 
     investigators, victim witness specialists, mental health and 
     other child services professionals, the Center will greatly 
     enhance our national efforts to protect our children from 
     child predators.
       Section 3. Creates a National Internet Site for Sexual 
     Offender Information--The legislation directs the new 
     Department of Justice Crimes Against Children Office to 
     create an Internet site that consolidates sex offender 
     information which States currently release under the federal 
     reporting act. The bill also directs States that have not 
     developed Internet sites to do so.
       Currently, all 50 states have registration statutes that 
     require sex offenders to register and to share information 
     with the United States Attorney General through the Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation, and over 30 States make offender 
     information available to the public on the Internet. The 
     creation of a national Internet site will enable concerned 
     citizens to find in one, easily accessible place, critical 
     information about sexual predators.
       Section 4. Expands the DNA Analysis and Backlog Elimination 
     Act, 42 U.S.C. 14135a(d), by increasing the categories of 
     offenses that are included in the system of convicted 
     offender DNA profiles, the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). 
     The bill expands the class of offenses that are included in 
     CODIS by adding to the system all Federal felonies and 
     additional offenses that subject Federal offenders to sex 
     registration requirements.
       Currently, the DNA Analysis and Backlog Elimination Act 
     includes only select Federal offenses in CODIS. The 
     successful experience of a large number of States which 
     authorize the collection of DNA samples from all felony 
     offenders illustrated the merit of this extension. In these 
     States, numerous crimes have been solved based on DNA 
     evidence obtained from nonviolent felony offenders. The 
     addition of other offenses that subject Federal offenders to 
     sex registration requirements will further enhance 
     enforcement's ability to solve crimes.
       Section 5. Extends the Statute of Limitations Period for 
     Child Abuse Offenses contained in 18 U.S.C. 3283 to allow 
     prosecutions of offenses involving the sexual or physical 
     abuse of a child to be brought until the child reaches the 
     age of 35. Currently, such prosecutions may be brought until 
     the child is 25 years of age.
       This amendment is intended to recognize that the arm of the 
     law should be long in the prosecution of child abuse 
     offenses. Too often victims of such crimes do not come 
     forward until years after the abuse because they fear their 
     disclosures will lead to further humiliation, shame, and even 
     ostracism. This amendment will reduce the number of 
     meritorious child abuse cases that are barred from 
     prosecution on statute of limitations grounds.

[[Page S8461]]

       Section 6. Expands Rule 414 of the Federal Rules of 
     Evidence which allows evidence of a defendant's prior acts of 
     child molestation to be admitted in a criminal child 
     molestation case.
       The amendment extends the definition of ``child'' contained 
     in Rule 414 to include any person below the age of 18--rather 
     than age 14, as the Rule now reads. The amendment also makes 
     clear that where a defendant previously possessed what may 
     have been virtual, as opposed to actual, child pornography, 
     such evidence is admissible under Rule 414. Like the 
     possession of actual child pornography, the possession of 
     virtual child pornography is highly probative evidence that 
     should be admissible in a case of child molestation or 
     exploitation.
       Section 7. Precludes the Assertion of a Marital Privilege 
     in a Criminal Child Abuse Case in which a spouse stands 
     accused of abusing a child in the home. In such a case, 
     neither the abuser nor his or her spouse should be permitted 
     to invoke a marital privilege to preclude critical testimony 
     relating to the child abuse.
       Section 8. Expands the Federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. 
     2516(1)(c), by adding as predicate offenses to the statute, 
     sex trafficking, sex exploitation, and other interstate sex 
     offenses. Currently, the wiretap statute authorizes the 
     interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications in 
     the investigation of just two sexual exploitation of children 
     crimes. This expanded tool will be particularly useful to 
     investigators who track sexual predators and child 
     portnographers.
       To obtain a wiretap, law enforcement authorities will still 
     need to meet the strict statutory guidelines of the wiretap 
     statute and obtain authorization from a court. Thus, the 
     legislation will not undermine the legitimate expectations of 
     privacy of law-abiding Americans.
       Section 9. Extends the Maximum Supervised Release Period 
     that Applies to Sexual Offenders by granting Federal judges 
     the discretion to impose up to lifetime periods of supervised 
     release for individuals who are convicted of sexual abuse, 
     sexual exploitation, transportation for illegal sexual 
     activity, or sex trafficking offenses.
       Currently, under the general supervised release statute, 18 
     U.S.C. 3583, a judge can impose no more than 5 years of 
     supervised release for a serious felony, and no more than 3 
     years for a lesser categorized offense. This amendment will 
     not require judges to impose a period of supervised release 
     longer than 5 years; it simply authorizes them to do so where 
     the judge sees fit based on the nature and circumstances of 
     the particular case.
       Section 10. Increases the Maximum Penalties that Apply to 
     Certain Sexual Related Offenses by doubling the maximum 
     penalties for sexual related offenses involving the 
     trafficking of children and other interstate elements. 
     Stiffer penalties are needed to punish and deter individuals 
     who commit such offenses.
       Section 11. Creates a Crimes Against Children Section at 
     the Department of Justice--The bill also directs the Attorney 
     General to appoint a Deputy Assistant Attorney General to 
     oversee a new section at the Department of Justice designated 
     to focus solely on crimes against children. Among other 
     things, the new section will be tasked with prosecuting 
     crimes against children, providing guidance and assistance to 
     Federal State, and local law enforcement agencies and 
     personnel who handle such cases, coordinating efforts with 
     international law enforcement agencies to combat crimes 
     against children, and acting as a liaison with the 
     legislative and judicial branches of government to ensure 
     that adequate attention and resources are focused on 
     protecting our children from predators of all types.
       Section 12. Directs the Sentencing Commission to review the 
     guidelines that apply to child abuse and exploitation 
     offenses to determine whether they are sufficiently severe. 
     In so doing, the Sentencing Commission shall consider whether 
     the guidelines are adequate where aggravated circumstances 
     exist: the victim had not attained the age of twelve years, 
     or had not attained the age of sixteen years; the victim 
     died, sustained permanent, life-threatening, or serious 
     injury as a result of the criminal act; the victim was 
     abducted; the victim was abused by more than one individual; 
     the offense involved more than one victim; the offense 
     involved a large number of visual depictions, including 
     multiple images of the same victim; or the offense involved 
     material that portrays sadistic or masochistic conduct or 
     other depictions of violence.

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague from Utah, 
Senator Hatch, to introduce the ``Comprehensive Child Protection Act of 
2002''--a bill to help protect our nation's children from child 
molestation and other forms of abuse.
  Sexual abuse of children is a pervasive and extremely troubling 
problem in the United States. I learned that over 25 years ago when I 
was serving as the Country Prosecutor in Greene County, Ohio. I saw 
what this kind of abuse does to innocent, helpless children and how 
pervasive the crimes are in our communities. In fact, according to the 
Congressional Research Service, one of every three girls and one of 
every seven boys will be sexually abused before they reach the age of 
18.
  Our local police and prosecutors are on the front line in the fight 
against these criminals, and they deserve credit and our thanks for 
their hard work. For example, in Greene County recently, a number of 
child pornographers were identified and prosecuted when local law 
enforcement carried out a successful Internet sting operation.
  Despite successes like this, however, the data suggest that law 
enforcement is fighting an uphill battle. Last year, there were over 
5,400 registered sex offenders living in my home state of Ohio--an 
increase of 319 percent over 1998.
  Equally troubling, many child molesters prey upon dozens of victims 
before they are reported to law enforcement. Some evade detection for 
so long because many children never report the abuse. According to the 
Bureau of Justice Statistics, between 60 percent and 80 percent of 
child molestations and 69 percent of sexual assaults are never reported 
to the police. Of reported sexual assaults, 71 percent of the victims 
are children, according to the Congressional Research Service.
  For these reasons, it is vitally important that Congress do 
everything in its power to support law enforcement in its efforts to 
protect our nation's most vulnerable citizens. Enacting the 
``Comprehensive Child Protection Act of 2002'' would be a step in the 
right direction. By enacting this measure, we would help protect our 
children from sexual predators, pornographers, and others who abuse 
children. Among its major provisions, this legislation would:

       1. Direct the FBI to establish a new center that creates 
     and trains ``rapid response teams'' (composed of prosecutors, 
     investigators, and others) to respond promptly to reported 
     crimes against children;
       2. Establish a national Internet site that would make sex 
     offender information available to the public in one, easy to 
     access place. Currently, about 30 states make offender 
     information available to the public online;
       3. Authorize the collection of DNA samples from registered 
     sex offenders and the inclusion of these DNA samples in the 
     Combined DNA Index System, or ``CODIS;''
       4. Permit the prosecution of child abuse offenses until a 
     victim reaches the age of 35 (as opposed to the age of 25 
     under current law). This provision recognizes that victims of 
     such crimes often do not come forward until years after the 
     abuse, out of shame or a fear of further humiliation;
       5. Make it easier for investigators to track sexual 
     predators and child pornographers and make it easier to 
     prosecute criminal child abuse/molestation cases;
       6. Create a new section at the Department of Justice to 
     focus solely on crimes against children; and
       7. Stiffen penalties for sex-related offenses involving 
     children.

  This is a good bill--a bill that would help ensure that our children 
are protected from some of the most heinous of criminals. It is a bill 
that would increase the punishment for those criminals. And, it is a 
bill that, quite simply, is the right thing to do. I encourage my 
colleagues to join us in cosponsoring this important measure.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise today in support of an act that I 
am cosponsoring with Senator Hatch that represents one of the most 
comprehensive pieces of legislation ever drafted to protect children, 
the Comprehensive Child Protection Act of 2002. As Ranking Republican 
on the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, I have been greatly concerned 
with the recent increase in reports of child abductions and murders, so 
I am glad to be a part of this effort to address this growing problem. 
In my tenure on the Judiciary Committee, I have long fought for our 
Nation's children, and have ardently supported laws that bring them and 
their families greater protection. I am also pleased that the President 
will be hosting a conference on missing and exploited children at the 
end of this month, and I look forward to that conference and appreciate 
the President's and First Lady's work on behalf of children.
  This legislation comes at a critical time because we are hearing more 
and more about children being taken from their homes or schools and 
abused, or worse, murdered. Our children are a gift to us, are our 
national treasure, and are our future. We must do all that we can to 
protect these innocents and give law enforcement every tool possible to 
ferret out the criminals who would do our children harm. With this 
legislation, we will be ensuring a greater measure of protection for 
our children.

[[Page S8462]]

  The bill does many important things. First, it helps law enforcement 
respond immediately to incidents of child abduction, because, as we've 
seen with the Amber Alert system, time is critical in any abduction 
case to thwart further injury or harm. The bill creates a National 
Crimes Against Children Response Center at the FBI that will integrate 
the resources and expertise of all Federal, State and local law 
enforcement sources to provide a rapid response for crimes involving 
child victims. The bill also helps law enforcement by making it 
possible to get wire taps for suspected sex trafficking and 
exploitation offenses, and will require that all Federal child sex 
crimes offenders have their DNA added to the national DNA registry. So 
the bill will help to centralize information about criminals and 
crimes, and makes the job of the criminal investigator easier and more 
accurate through wiretaps and DNA evidence.

  The bill also creates a website registry for convicted child sexual 
offenders so that parents, neighbors, and police know who in their 
communities is a convicted child predator. This website will supplement 
registries in all 50 States. This important tool will help families 
make better and fully-informed decisions about their childrens' safety, 
and will greatly aid law enforcements' response to reports of child 
abductions and other offenses against children.
  The bill also gives new tools to prosecutors and the courts. It 
extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting child offenders, 
allows prosecutors to introduce evidence of past child sex crimes in 
sentencing hearings, removes the so-called ``spousal privilege'' so 
that a spouse can't stand silent in the prosecution of the other spouse 
for child sexual abuse, and increases the maximum sentences and 
probation periods for child sex offenders. These important tools will 
make our communities safer by helping to rid them of child predators, 
and by keeping a tight leash on predators when they get released from 
prison.
  So this bill helps the public know about sexual predators in their 
communities, improves the nation's ability to respond to child 
abduction reports, and aids criminal investigators and prosecutors in 
their efforts to protect the public by identifying and locking-up child 
predators. I ask my fellow Senators to support this important bill.
                                 ______