Major Law Enforcement, Child Safety Groups Laud Bipartisan Child Safety Package Ahead of Committee Vote

Major Law Enforcement, Child Safety Groups Laud Bipartisan Child Safety Package Ahead of Committee Vote

WASHINGTON - Over two dozen law enforcement and child safety organizations voiced their support for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) bipartisan child safety bills ahead of tomorrow's Judiciary Committee vote. The Sentencing Accountability for Exploitation (SAFE) Act, the Ending Coercion of Children and Harm Online (ECCHO) Act and the Stop Sextortion Act would address dangerous developments in online child exploitation by targeting lax federal sentencing laws, violent online criminal networks and sextortion.

The national and local organizations backing the legislative package include: the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association, the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys (NAAUSA), the Conservative Political Action Conference's (CPAC) Center for Combating Human Trafficking, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), Thorn, Snap, Inc., the National District Attorneys Association, the National Center for Victims of Crime, the National Children's Alliance, Enough is Enough, Nurses United Against Human Trafficking, Paving the Way Foundation, the Genesis Project, the 3Strands Global Foundation, the World Without Exploitation, Exodus Cry, Global Hope 365, the Yellowstone Human Trafficking Task Force, Not On Our Watch Texas, the Survivor Leader Network of San Diego, the California Survivor Coalition, the Traffick Refuge, Street Grace, South Carolina Legislative Roundtable, the Alliance to End Human Trafficking, the Child Rescue Coalition and Breaking the Cycle. The Child Safety Coalition endorsed the SAFE Act; Sandy Hook Promise endorsed the ECCHO Act and Internet Works endorsed the Stop Sextortion Act and ECCHO Act.

Here's what they're saying:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association:
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents Association (FBIAA) supports this package of legislation as an important step toward closing loopholes that have too often made it difficult to fully prosecute child predators. These bills modernize federal law to reflect today's online threats by criminalizing harmful conduct that could not be effectively charged before and ensuring offenders are held accountable for the full scope of their life-altering abuse. The FBIAA looks forward to continuing to work with Congress to further strengthen these laws."

The National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys:
"On behalf of the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys (NAAUSA), we write to express our strong support for the bipartisan legislative package introduced to protect children from online exploitation and coercion… Collectively, this legislative package equips federal prosecutors with modernized statutes and sentencing tools that reflect the realities of online child exploitation, strengthen deterrence, improve sentencing consistency and prioritize victim protection. These reforms will enhance the Department of Justice's ability to hold offenders accountable, while ensuring federal law keeps pace with evolving technologies and criminal tactics."

The Conservative Political Action Conference's (CPAC) Center for Combating Human Trafficking:
"Protecting children from online exploitation is a necessity in the digital age, and lawmakers need to act swiftly to combat these new forms of abuse. CPAC's Center for Combating Human Trafficking is proud to stand with Chairman Chuck Grassley and support this bipartisan package to strengthen accountability, disrupt criminal networks, and equip law enforcement with the tools needed to shut down the digital pipelines that enable abuse. We look forward to working alongside the bill sponsors to prioritize the safety of the next generation as these proposals will put survivors first and hold offenders fully accountable for their crimes."

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN):
"With technology moving faster than ever, predators are finding new ways to exploit kids. They can increase their access to children by contacting them online and soliciting child sexual abuse material, then distributing it or using the threat of distribution to harm kids even further. Sometimes predators are doing this as a part of broad networks, often posing as minors online to get victims to trust them. It's time for U.S. law to catch up with these new forms of child exploitation. These bills will bring our laws into the present and ensure accountability for predators is not lost to the past."

Enough is Enough:
"Children are being targeted, groomed and exploited by predators who seek them on social media, gaming and other tech platforms. The FBI is warning about an online group called 764 that is targeting children online, demanding victims send them photos that are then used to extort them. The three bills introduced by Sens. Grassley and Durbin will confront these grave threats to children online. Congress should pass these three pieces of legislation to ensure our laws catch up with the criminality happening to our children online."

Background:

The SAFE Act, cosponsored by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.), would revamp outdated federal sentencing laws. The Sentencing Commission is currently prohibited from updating sentencing laws without congressional action. Read bill text HERE.

The ECCHO Act, cosponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ashley Moody (F-Fla.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), would criminalize violent online networks by prohibiting the coercion of children to hurt themselves or others. There is currently no law that explicitly prohibits this type of coercion. Read bill text HERE.

The Stop Sextortion Act, cosponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) and John Kennedy (R-La.), would criminalize the extortion and coercion of children using child sex abuse material, known commonly as "sextortion." There is currently no law that explicitly prohibits sextortion. Read bill text HERE.

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