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S 1333119th CongressIntroduced
Strengthening Child Exploitation Enforcement Act
Introduced: Apr 8, 2025
Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (R-Texas)
Civil Rights & Justice
Standard Summary
Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs
The Strengthening Child Exploitation Enforcement Act amends federal criminal law to strengthen protections for minors against kidnapping and sexual abuse. The bill expands the definition of kidnapping to include obtaining a person through fraud or deception, removes the consent defense for victims under 16 years old in certain cases, and broadens sexual abuse provisions to cover additional forms of contact and attempted offenses. It also clarifies that interstate travel (not just crossing state lines) triggers federal jurisdiction in sexual abuse cases and extends protections to cover a wider range of illicit sexual conduct with minors.
Key Points
- 1Expands kidnapping statutes to include obtaining a person through fraud or deception, not just physical abduction
- 2Eliminates consent as a defense when the victim is under 16 years old, unless the offender can prove they reasonably believed the victim was 16 or older
- 3Changes jurisdictional trigger from "crosses a State line" to "travels in interstate or foreign commerce" for sexual abuse cases
- 4Creates new offense for intentional touching of genitalia of persons under 16 in federal facilities, with penalties matching related sexual abuse provisions
- 5Adds attempt provisions to abusive sexual contact offenses, making attempted sexual abuse subject to the same penalties as completed offenses
Impact Areas
Child Protection: Significantly strengthens federal law enforcement's ability to prosecute child exploitation and abuse casesFederal Criminal Justice System: Expands federal jurisdiction over sexual abuse cases and increases prosecutorial toolsDefendants' Rights: Limits available defenses in cases involving minors under 16 and broadens the scope of criminal liability to include attempts and fraud-based offenses
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