ENFORCE Act
This bill, formally titled the "Enhancing Necessary Federal Offenses Regarding Child Exploitation Act" (ENFORCE Act), strengthens federal laws targeting child sexual abuse material by closing legal loopholes and increasing penalties. It primarily amends two key areas: (1) clarifies and expands the definition of "production" for actual child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A to cover more scenarios where offenders create or distribute such material using interstate commerce channels, and (2) significantly enhances enforcement for obscene visual depictions of child sexual abuse (often computer-generated or simulated imagery) under 18 U.S.C. § 1466A. The bill removes the statute of limitations for prosecuting these obscene depictions, mandates sex offender registration for convictions, prohibits reproduction of the material during legal discovery, requires mandatory pretrial detention for accused individuals, and extends supervised release requirements after imprisonment. Its purpose is to eliminate technical defenses used by offenders and ensure consistent, severe consequences across all forms of child sexual abuse material.
Key Points
- 1Clarifies "production" of child pornography to explicitly include material the offender knows will be transported via interstate commerce, was made using interstate materials, or has already been transported—closing loopholes where offenders claimed they didn’t technically "produce" the material.
- 2Removes the statute of limitations for prosecuting violations involving obscene visual depictions of child sexual abuse (18 U.S.C. § 1466A), allowing prosecutions regardless of when the offense occurred.
- 3Requires individuals convicted of creating or distributing obscene visual depictions of child sexual abuse to register as sex offenders under the Adam Walsh Act, aligning penalties with those for actual child pornography offenses.
- 4Prohibits the reproduction or sharing of obscene visual depictions of child sexual abuse during criminal discovery, keeping such material under strict court or government control to protect victims, mirroring existing rules for child pornography cases.
- 5Mandates pretrial detention (no bail) for anyone charged with violating § 1466A and extends supervised release terms after imprisonment for these offenses, treating them as severely as other major child exploitation crimes.