U.S. CRIME BILL OF 1994 AND
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION

On September 13, 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, better known as the Crime Bill. The Act, Public Law 103-322, includes extension of the Mann Act that will provide new tools for fighting both American sexual abuse of children overseas and international child pornography, which has the special patronage of pedophiles...

A 1986 amendment to the Mann Act, (section 2423), already made it a chargeable crime to transport a person under the age of 18, between states or abroad, with the intent that such youth engagement in prostitution or sexual activity... The (new) language of the added subsection (b) is:

“TRAVEL WITH INTENT TO ENGAGE IN SEXUAL ACTS WITH A JUVENILE--

A person who travels in interstate commerce, or conspires to do so, or a United States citizen or an alien admitted for permanent residence in the United States who travel in foreign commerce, or conspires to do so, for the purpose of engaging in any sexual act (as defined in section 2245) with a person under the age of 18 years of age that would be in violation of chapter 109A if the sexual act occurred in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.”

This law should be especially effective for prosecuting pedophiles. They frequently, almost compulsively, document encounters with many children. Though pedophiles have become adept at networking about where to go, how to travel and in sharing graphic materials, as long as sexual activity was done overseas and they could avoid discovery of their pornographic materials, the networks provided a measure of safety. Now, the field has been leveled and rules of the encounter have changed, opening them up to several additional reasons for prosecution.

... However, it is the interpretation of the framers of this language that persons engaging in sexual acts with minors overseas can be charged, even if they did not solely or explicitly go overseas to seek underage sex partners.

For further information about Child prostitution, contact: ECPAT-USA (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) 157 Montague St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, Telephone: 718/935 9192, Fax: 718/935 9173, Email: Info@ecpatusa.org

Edited by Una Stevenson