Criminalizing child sex offenders on the internet

1. Criminalizing child sex offenders on the internet Terry M. Kinney KinneyTM@state.gov Resident Legal Advisor United States Department of Justice

2. Internet Sex Offenders It is humbling to speak about this topic because I have been a prosecutor long enough to remember the days in the 1980s when we smugly believed that we had overcome child pornography In those days, child pornography was hard to find Most child pornographers were isolated, unconnected individuals were operated alone Most pornographers manufactured their own images using polaroid cameras, and swapping and sharing images was rare. Large collections like we see nowadays was rare. When we seized photographs, we destroyed them and the victimization seized

3. Internet Sex Offenders We have been challenged by new technology – the genie is out of the bottle and in my personal opinion, it will be hard to get him back into his bottle New computer and digital technology have placed internet pornography and child pornography at everyone’s desktop, at home, on the office or on the road. More than 10,000 new images of child pornography are uploaded to the internet every week. Once on the internet, they are always there.

4. Internet Set Offenders Individuals who molest children are able to assemble large collections – sometimes millions of photos, and swapping images and developing new images to swap has become a currency for child molesters on the internet Individuals share victims and can use the internet to groom and victimize other individuals. Critically, individuals use the internet as a means to support each other and develop and promote other individuals who share their illicit interest.

5. Internet Sex Offenders This is such a challenge that in August 2010, the United States Department of Justice presented to Congress a 150 page report outlining a National Strategy to address child exploitation and pornography That report highlights a series of challenges that we are trying to address both through legislation and through a whole village approach, that’s to say, to wrap all elements of civil society into a seamless web to protect our children, to prevent exploitation and to prosecute those individuals who would exploit our children.

6. Internet Sex Offenders Our national Strategy focuses on (1) Child pornography (2) online enticement for sexual purposes (3) commercial sexual exploitation of children (4) child sex tourism

7. Internet Sex Offenders We have dozens of statutes that address sexual exploitation of children and almost all will apply to a situation where the internet has been used to solicit a child for sex, find a victim or exploit a victim. Our statutes are broadly drafted so that the transmission of solicitations, or photographs or images of children with a goal of sexual exploitation constitutes a serious violation and will result in a serious term of incarceration

8. Internet Sex Offenders The increasing trend of severe sentences for child sexual exploitation, including child sexual exploitation or recruitment over the internet is perceived in some quarters as feeding child sex tourism where child molesters will try to find a country, typically a poorer country, where law enforcement is less prepared to address child sexual exploitation, sentences are less, there is often corruption and where it is perceived as much safer to commit a sex offense against a child,

9. Internet Sex Offenders In the time that I have , it is impossible to go through our entire statutory arsenal to address all our offenses that proscribe either the use of a computer or the internet to exploit a child but I will preview several which highlight our attempt to criminalize using a computer or the internet for exploitative purposes

10. Internet Sex Offenses18 USC 2252 Four basic offenses: (1) transporting/sending depiction of minor in sexually explicit conduct. (2) Knowingly receiving or copying such (3)selling or possession such (4)possessing one or more books, films or other media All of which include using a computer

11. Internet Sex Offenses18 USC 2252 (a) Any person who -(1) knowingly transports or ships in interstate or foreign commerce by any means including by computer or mails, any visual depiction, if -(A) the producing of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and (B) such visual depiction is of such conduct;(2) knowingly receives, or distributes, any visual depiction that has been mailed, or has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, or which contains materials which have been mailed or so shipped or transported, by any means including by computer, or knowingly reproduces any visual depiction for distribution in interstate or foreign commerce ort hrough the mails, if -(A) the producing of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and (B) such visual depiction is of such conduct;

12. Internet Sex Offenses18 USC 2252 Whoever violates, or attempts or conspires to violate, paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years, but if such person has a prior conviction under this chapter, chapter 71, chapter 109A, or chapter 117, or under section920 of title 10 (article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), or under the laws of any State relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward, or the production, possession, receipt, mailing ,sale, distribution, shipment, or transportation of child pornography, such person shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not less than 15 years nor more than 40 years.

13. Internet Sex Offenses18 USC 2251 (a) Any person who employs, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any minor to engage in, or who has a minor assist any other person to engage in, or who transports any minor in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of the United States, with the intent that such minor engage in, any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct, shall be punished as provided under subsection (e), if such person knows or has reason to know that such visual depiction will be transported in interstate or foreign commerce or mailed, if that visual depiction was produced using materials that have been mailed, shipped, or transported in interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer, or if such visual depiction has actually been transported in interstate or foreign commerce or mailed.

14. Internet Sex Offenses 18 USC 2251 (e) Any individual who violates, or attempts or conspires to violate, this section shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 15 years nor more than 30 years, but if such person has one prior conviction …. such person shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not less than 25 years nor more than 50 years, but if such person has 2or more prior convictions under this chapter, ….relating to the sexual exploitation of children, such person shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 35years nor more than life.

15. Internet Sex Offenses These are only a small portion of the statutes that we use but are what you will typically encounter in an internet child pornography case. This is only a small part of the solution to address this issue – for instance, we require providers to report when they discover child pornography; we have a government funded NGO that works closely with law enforcement to track child pornography, and we undertake many other efforts in close cooperation with society to protect our children. Criminal prosecutions are only a small portion of our efforts.

16. Internet Sex OffensesDefinitions - One of Two Section 2256 of Title 18, United States Code, sets forth definitions for Sections 2251, 2251A, 2252A and 2252. For example, "minor" refers to any person under the age of eighteen years. "Sexually explicit conduct" means actual or simulated: sexual intercourse, bestiality, masturbation, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area.

17. Internet Sex OffensesDefinitions – Two of Two The term "child pornography" is defined to include the following: (1) visual depictions where minors are depicted engaging in sexually explicit conduct; (2) visual depictions which are, or appear to be, of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; (3) visual depictions which have been created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or (4) visual depictions which are advertised, promoted, presented, described or distributed in such a manner that conveys the impression that the material is or contains a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

18. Internet Sex Offenses It is important to highlight several other provisions of our statutes that address child sexual exploitation (1) we provide for civil and criminal forfeiture to take the profit out of the crime and to take away tools and instrumentalities of the crime – houses, equipment etc (2) we provide for mandatory restitution (3) full civil remedies are available