Senate Okays Exploitation Prevention Act
Posted on Wednesday, 2 of April , 2008 at 9:52 pm
The “Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Act of 2008″ (S.6747) is based upon recommendations made in a report released by the Senate Majority Task Force on Critical Choices entitled, “Protecting Children in the Internet Age.”
“Sexual predators, by their very nature, are very good at manipulation which is evident in their extensive use of the Internet,” said bill sponsor Sen. Dale Volker (R-C-I,
“As wonderful as advances in technology are for society, they also make it easier for dangerous predators to get access to victims by new means, including the Internet. This legislation includes a wide array of aggressive measures that will help protect our children and communities from dangerous online predators and will build on the Senate’s long history of making sure these heinous criminals are caught and punished for their crimes.”
The report highlights the strong link between child pornography possessors and individuals who sexually victimize children. In fact, a recent study found that f55 percent of those arrested for child pornography possession have sexually abused or tried to sexually abuse children. Because of this strong correlation, and because the conviction rate for child pornography possession is nearly 100 percent, the report emphasizes the importance of cracking down on child pornography as a critical part of any overall strategy to keep children safe from sexual offenses.
This comprehensive legislation will:
> Toughen penalties for promoting child prostitution;
> Increase penalties for producing child pornography;
> Provide enhanced penalties where a sex crime against a child has been committed using a computer or computer service;
> Increase the penalty for persons who permit their premises to be used for child prostitution;
> Allow the admission of business records into evidence in child pornography grand jury proceedings via affidavit;
> Allow a “non-judicial” subpoena to be issued by a district attorney or the Attorney General for child pornography via the internet; and
> Require local social services districts, when possible, to establish safe houses for sexually abused children.
The bill comes amid a dramatic expansion of networking and video sharing sites such as MySpace.com and YouTube.com, which present additional challenges to parents seeking to monitor their children’s activities on the Internet.
Earlier this year, the Senate passed Attorney General Cuomo’s e-STOP initiative (Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act) that requires sex offenders to register their online identifiers and updates Megan’s Law for the Internet age (S.6875-A, Skelos). The Senate also passed legislation (S.1921-A), sponsored by Sen. Robach, to increase criminal penalties for using a computer to commit a sex crime against a child. 4-2-08
Category: Courts, Crime, Family, Government, New York State, Technology
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