Senator Boxer: Combating Child Exploitation

August 10, 2007

Dear Friend:

I recently joined my colleague, Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) in introducing the Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007. As a mother, as a grandmother, and as a Senator, I believe that there is no greater obligation than the safety and well-being of our children, and our legislation is aimed at making the world safer for children.

While none of us like to think about crimes against children, we must. Children between the ages of 12 and 17 are more than twice as likely as adults to be victims of violent crime. And according to data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, people under the age of 18 make up approximately 26 percent of violent crime victims reported to police, including 70 percent of all reported sexual assaults. Those statistics tell me that we are not doing enough to protect our children.

Our legislation is a common-sense approach help prevent violence and exploitation of our children, and it will help law enforcement officials hunt down the individuals who commit these gruesome acts. Specifically, the Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007 would: -

• Create an Office of Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction in the Justice Department modeled on the successful Violence Against Women Office;

• Establish a federal Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force program that will be a central resource for a national network of state and local law enforcement dedicated to child exploitation crimes;

• Require the establishment of an ICAC data network to support investigations and to assist with case conflict resolution;

• Establish a new ICAC grant program to ensure consistent and adequate resources for state and local efforts to combat child exploitation;

• Authorize funding for additional federal agents within the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Postal Service focusing exclusively on child exploitation cases; and

• Authorize new resources to improve regional computer forensic labs.

We must do more than simply claim that children are our most important and valuable resource – we must protect them. This legislation is an important step in that direction, and I am pleased to be an original cosponsor.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

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