[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 18, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3889-S3891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. DeWine, Mrs. 
        Hutchison, Mr. Sessions, and Mr. Grassley):
  S. 644. 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, we have all been devastated by the repeated 
news flashes of violent crimes being committed against children across 
the Nation. In June 2002, Elizabeth Smart, a 14 year old from my home 
State of Utah was kidnapped at gun point from her home in Salt Lake 
City. Just this past week, the entire Nation rejoiced with the Smart 
family after Elizabeth was found alive and reunited with her loved 
ones.
  Five year old Samantha Runnion was not so lucky. Just one month after 
Elizabeth Smart's abduction, Samantha 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 Alejandro Avila with 
Runnion's abduction, sexual assault and murder. Reportedly, Avila was 
acquitted two years ago of molesting two young girls under the age of 
14.
  Elizabeth Smart and Samantha Runnion are just two, among many, recent 
child victims. The list of tragic cases involving minor victims 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 federal and state law enforcement 
officers have all the tools and resources they need to find, prosecute, 
and punish those who commit crimes against our youth.
  Today, I rise to reintroduce the ``Comprehensive Child Protection Act 
of 2003'' which enhances existing laws, investigative tools, criminal 
penalties and child crime resources in a variety of ways. I introduced 
this important bill with Senator Feinstein last year, but it failed to 
go anywhere. My unwavering commitment to this issue compels me to 
introduce it again this year. Let me elaborate on the Act's specific 
provisions.
  By broadening existing laws, the Act enhances the ability of child 
victims to pursue and prevail in criminal proceedings against their 
predators.
  First, the Act extends the statute of limitations period that applies 
to offenses involving the sexual or physical abuse of children under 18 
years of age. Current law permits such cases to be brought until the 
victim reaches the age of 25 years. This amendment will allow 
meritorious cases of child sexual and physical abuse to be brought up 
until the date the minor reaches the age of 35 years.

  It is well-documented that child abuse victims often do not come 
forward until years after the abuse occurred. Victims fail to come 
forward because they fear their disclosures will lead to further 
humiliation, shame, and even ostracism. Abusers should not benefit from 
the lasting psychological harms they have inflicted on innocent 
children.
  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 to long to come 
forward. Our criminal justice system should be ready to adjudicate all 
meritorious claims of child abuse. This amendment is meant to recognize 
that the arm of the law should be long in the prosecution of crimes of 
this heinous nature.
  Second, the Act 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 actual or apparent minors. The current 
evidentiary rule permits such evidence to be admitted only where the 
victim was under 14 years of age. This amendment extends the rule to 
apply to any minor--any victim who was under 18 years of age at the 
time the offense was committed.
  In addition, the amendment makes clear that even where an individual 
possesses what may be virtual, as opposed to actual, child pornography, 
and therefore, may have a valid defense against prosecution in light of 
the Supreme Court's recent decision in Ashcroft v. Free Speech 
Coalition, 122 S. Ct. 1389 (2002), such evidence is nonetheless 
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 involving child 
molestation or exploitation.
  Third, the Act also limits the scope of the common law marital 
privileges by making them inapplicable in a criminal child abuse case 
in which the abuser or his or her spouse invokes a privilege to avoid 
testifying. Where a child abuser is charged with a crime against the 
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 a marital privilege to avoid providing critical evidence.
  The marital privileges exist because we in society believe that 
forcing a person to testify against his or her spouse, or permitting a 
spouse to testify about confidential marital communications, may 
jeopardize a marriage. While we value trusting, harmonious marriages, 
our societal interest in the proper administration of justice far 
exceeds our interest in preserving marital harmony where a spouse has 
chosen a vulnerable, defenseless child in the home as his or her 
victim. In my view, it is more important to prosecute and punish child 
abusers than it is to minimize the potential risk to the life of a 
marriage in which child abuse is occurring.
  The Act increases the investigative tools available to law 
enforcement agencies in several significant ways.
  First, the Act amends the DNA Analysis and Backlog Elimination Act by 
increasing the categories of offenses that are included in the database 
of convicted offender DNA profiles, the Combined DNA Index System, 
CODIS. Without question, DNA--which is unique to each individual and 
maintains its evidentiary integrity for long periods of time--is a 
valuable investigatory tool. Time and again DNA evidence has aided in 
solving difficult criminal cases by linking suspects to crimes and by 
eliminating others.
  This Act expands the class of offenses that are included in CODIS by 
adding all federal felony offenses to the database. Currently, the DNA 
Analysis and Backlog Elimination Act includes only select Federal 
offenses. The successful experiences of approximately 19 States, 
including Utah, which currently authorize the collection of DNA samples 
for all felony offenses illustrate the need for this extension. These 
States have solved numerous crimes where DNA has been found--frequently 
based on an offender's conviction for a nonviolent offense--such as 
burglary, theft or a narcotics offense.
  Remarkably, not all States currently authorize the collection of DNA 
samples from all types of child offenders. Thus, the Act also expands 
the definition of qualifying offense to include all state offenses 
against children, such as those involving child kidnapping or abuse. 
This expansion will increase law enforcement's ability to solve such 
crimes where DNA evidence is found.
  Second, the Act extends the Federal wiretap statute by adding sex 
trafficking, sexual abuse, exploitation, and other sex-related offenses 
as predicate offenses to the statute. As we all know, the Internet is 
becoming an increasingly popular means by which sexual predators make 
contact with child victims. Although predators typically initiate a 
relationship online, they ultimately seek to make personal contact with 
the child--both over the telephone and through face to face meetings. 
But as the law exists today, investigators are restricted in their 
ability to investigate such predators. This provision will enable 
investigators, who meet the statutory requirements of the Federal 
wiretap statute, to obtain court authorization to monitor such 
communications. This amendment will not only aid investigators in 
obtaining evidence of these crimes, it will also help

[[Page S3890]]

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. This 
expanded tool will be particularly useful to investigators who track 
sexual predators and child pornographers.
  The Act also strengthens criminal penalties by extending the 
supervised release period that applies to certain offenders, increasing 
the maximum penalties that apply to offenses involving transportation 
for illegal sexual activity, and directing the United States Sentencing 
Commission to review the guidelines that apply to criminal offenses 
with which child predators are frequently charged to determine whether 
they are sufficiently severe.
  The Act 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, or sex trafficking offenses. Under current Federal 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 to the general supervised release statute will 
not require judges to impose a period of supervised release longer than 
5 years; it will simply authorize them to do so where a judge sees fit 
based on the nature and circumstances of the case.
  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.
  The Act increases the maximum penalties that apply to certain 
offenses, including sexual offenses that involve the trafficking of 
children and transportation. Stiffer penalties are needed to punish and 
deter individuals who commit such offenses.

  The Act also directs the United States Sentencing Commission to 
review the sentencing guidelines that apply to various offenses that 
apply to kidnappers, sexual abusers and exploiters, to ensure that 
Federal sentences are sufficiently severe where aggravating 
circumstances exist, such as where the victim was abducted, injured, 
killed, or abused by more than one person.
  In a number of significant ways, the Act enhances the resources that 
are available to investigate and prosecute crimes against children.
  First, the Act 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.
  In addition, the Act tasks the new Crimes Against Children section to 
create an Internet site that consolidates sex offender information 
which States currently disclose under the Federal reporting act. The 
Act also direct 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 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. 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 move to 
try to avoid detection of their past criminal acts. 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 from harm's way.
  The Act also increases resources and funding for the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation. 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, the Act directs the FBI 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 serving 
professionals. By creating and training rapid response teams comprised 
of federal, state and local prosecutors, investigators, victim witness 
specialists, mental health and other child serving 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 serving professionals will provide child victims with much needed 
support.
  The ``Comprehensive Child Protection Act of 2003'' 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 to 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 non governmental 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.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague from Utah, 
Senator Hatch, to reintroduce the ``Comprehensive Child Protection Act 
of 2003''--a bill to help protect our Nation's children from child 
molestation and other forms of abuse. Senator Hatch and I introduced 
this bill for the first time on September 10, 2002.
  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 County 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.

[[Page S3891]]

  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. In 2001 alone, 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. And, according to 
the Congressional Research Service, of reported sexual assaults, 71 
percent of the victims are children.
  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 2003'' 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, easily accessible 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 co-sponsoring this important measure.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today, I again rise in support of the 
Comprehensive Child Protection Act. I am proud to be standing with 
Senator Hatch as a co-sponsor of a bill that represents one of the most 
comprehensive pieces of legislation ever drafted to protect children. 
The miracle that Elizabeth Smart was found safe and sound, reminds us 
of how important this bill is.
  As a former chairman of the Youth Violence Subcommittee and Ranking 
Republican on the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs during the 107th 
Congress, I have been greatly concerned with the 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.
  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. The miracle that Elizabeth Smart was found safe and 
sound, reminds us of how important this bill is.
  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 children's safety, 
and will greatly aid law enforcement's 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.
                                 ______