House Approves Children's Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act

House Approves Children’s Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act

On March 8, the House approved, by voice vote, a legislative package (H.R. 4472) that would protect children from sexual predators, increase fines for offenses against court personnel, and set federal penalties for gang-related crimes. A number of the provisions were included in the Children’s Safety Act (H.R. 3132), which the House approved on September 14 (see The Source, 9/16/05). The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a similar bill on October 20 (see The Source, 10/21/05).

H.R. 4472 would incorporate the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (H.R. 2423), sponsored by Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL). The bill would establish three levels concerning a sex offender’s risk of committing another offense: a tier I sex offender has committed an offense punishable by imprisonment for one year or less; a tier II sex offender has committed an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or committed the offense as a tier I offender; and a tier III sex offender has committed an offense against a minor or committed the offense as a tier II offender. The measure would require a sex offender to register in each jurisdiction where he or she lives, works, or attends school. Registration would be updated regularly for the offender’s entire life in the case of a tier III sex offender, for 30 years in the case of a tier II sex offender, and for 20 years in the case of a tier I sex offender.

The measure would establish a National Sex Offender Registry and would require the Department of Justice to maintain a website that would allow the public to access the registry. H.R. 4472 also would establish a Sex Offender Management Assistance program to assist jurisdictions with the costs of maintaining local registries. Jurisdictions found to be in noncompliance with the bill’s requirements after two years could lose 10 percent of their allotted funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants Program. The measure would authorize a demonstration project on the use of electronic monitoring devices in sex offender management programs. Finally, an Office on Sexual Violence and Crimes Against Children would be established within the Department of Justice.

Three bills sponsored by Rep. Mark Green (R-WI) also would be included in H.R.4472. The DNA Fingerprinting Act (H.R. 2796) would expand the use of DNA testing to identify and prosecute sex offenders. The bill also would require the attorney general to publish a model code setting forth procedures for law enforcement personnel investigating a missing person or homicide. The procedures would include the use of DNA analysis to help locate missing persons and to identify human remains.

The Prevention and Deterrence of Crimes Against Children Act (H.R. 2388) would increase penalties for individuals who commit crimes against children, including death or life in prison if the crime results in death, 30 years to life for kidnapping or aggravated sexual abuse, and 20 years to life if the crime results in bodily injury. The bill would set forth a specific timeline for courts to review cases involving violent crimes against children, and would require the attorney general to conduct a study on establishing a nationwide interstate tracking system of persons convicted of, or under investigation for, child abuse.

The Protection Against Sexual Exploitation of Children Act (H.R. 2318) would increase penalties for individuals convicted of sexual abuse and exploitation of children. The measure also would increase penalties for child pornography and the use of misleading domain names that lure children to harmful material on the Internet.

H.R. 4472 would incorporate the Foster Child Protection and Child Sexual Predator Sentencing Act (H.R. 3129). Sponsored by Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), the measure would require background checks of respective foster and adoptive parents before child placement. The bill would increase penalties for coercion and enticement by sex offenders, child prostitution, kidnapping, and sex trafficking of children. In addition, $10 million would be authorized annually through FY2009 for a program that requires a sexually violent predator to be held in civil confinement after release if psychiatric or psychological evaluations give reason to believe that the individual has a high risk of recidivism.

The Child Pornography Prevention Act (H.R. 3726) also would be included in H.R. 4472. Sponsored by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), the measure would require anyone who produces a book, magazine, periodical, film, or videotape showing “simulated sexually explicit conduct” in which at least one person appears to be 25 years old or younger to keep detailed records on the performers. In addition, the bill would require that any child pornography used in court cases be held solely in the custody of the government or the court, and would prohibit its reproduction.

Unlike the bill approved last September, H.R. 4472 does not include a provision that would have expanded federal hate crimes to include gender, sexual orientation, and disability. The measure also does not contain a provision that would have made it illegal to sell or transfer a firearm to an individual who has been convicted of a sex crime against a minor.

Pointing out that the whereabouts are unknown for approximately one-fifth of the 500,000 registered sex offenders, Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) stated, “This bill takes commonsense steps toward ensuring sex offenders are not free to prey on the most vulnerable members of our society. We require States to expand the definition of sexual offenders to include juveniles, alert other States when predators seek refuge in another State and make community notification proactive, not reactive efforts. There are many reasons which cause parents across America to lie awake at night. Our failure to pass this valuable legislation should not be one of them.”

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) expressed her disappointment that the hate crimes provision was dropped from the bill: “One cannot fully address the issues of crime reduction and child safety without acknowledging the terrorizing impact hate-motivated violence has in our society, especially in subjecting groups of individuals to a debilitating state of fear for their safety and security. Hate crimes reduction is violent crime reduction, and it is about keeping millions of Americans, including children, safe from hate-motivated violence. It is a shame that by introducing an omnibus crime prevention bill and proceeding under suspension of the rules that the majority undermines the democratic process by doing an end run around hate crimes prevention.”