On November 26, the Senate passed, by unanimous consent, the Child Protection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6063). The House approved the bill on August 1 (see The Source, 8/3/12). The President is expected to sign the bill into law.
Sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the legislation increases the maximum penalty from 10 to 20 years for possession of child pornography involving children under the age of 12. The measure also allows a federal court to issue a protective order if a minor victim or witness is being deterred from testifying in court due to harassment or intimidation, including the distribution of a witness’s personal information on the internet. Intentional violation of a protective order will be punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
The bill authorizes $300 million for a five-year renewal of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force. Additionally, the cap on grant funds for ICAC training programs will be increased from $2 million to $4 million.
The U.S. Marshals will be granted administrative subpoena authority to investigate sex offenders who fail to comply with sex offender registry requirements. Subpoenas issued by the U.S. Marshals will not be subject to court approval.
The legislation also directs the attorney general to submit a report to Congress within 90 days of enactment on the status of the implementation of the National Internet Crimes Against Children Data System (NIDS). NIDS was established to assist law enforcement agencies with online investigation of child exploitation cases by facilitating secure data collection and exchange.
