U.S. Senator Katie Britt Continues Fight to Protect Children Online

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) joined Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in introducing the Child Predators Accountability Act to ensure abusers who include children in the production of sexually explicit content are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

This bipartisan legislation would amend current law to clarify that the passive engagement of a child in sexually explicit conduct violates federal law, specifically addressing the Seventh Circuit's outlier decision in United States v. Howard.

"From day one, I have intended to serve in Congress as a voice for the voiceless and protect the most vulnerable among us-our children," said Senator Britt. "This bipartisan effort would help ensure no child predators slip through the cracks and that justice is served to these heinous individuals. I'm tremendously grateful for my colleagues' leadership on this, and I look forward to working with them to get this signed into law."

In August 2017, law enforcement arrested Matthew Howard on suspicion of possession of child pornography. A subsequent search of Howard's computer uncovered a trove of child pornography, including at least two videos where Howard produced sexually explicit content depicting his sleeping nine-year-old niece. Howard pled guilty to possessing pornographic images of other minors, but contested the charges related to producing child pornography involving his niece, on the basis that she was asleep and therefore did not "engage" in any sexually explicit conduct.

The district court rejected Howard's argument, but in United States v. Howard, the Seventh Circuit court reversed the child pornography convictions, holding that a perpetrator does not violate the production of child pornography statute if the minor victim is a passive participant in the sexual offender's explicit conduct. Howard conflicts with holdings from the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth and Ninth Circuits, which have held that the federal statute is violated when a minor is the subject of an offender's photography or video, as Howard's niece was.

The Seventh Circuit's decision sets up a dangerous legal precedent and threatens prosecutions for offenders who film sexually explicit content of minors when they are sleeping, drugged or otherwise unconscious. The Child Predators Accountability Act would address this discrepancy, clarifying that the passive engagement of a child in sexually explicit conduct violates federal law.

"Congress must protect children from abuse and ensure all predators are held accountable for their disgusting crimes," said Senator Grassley. "By closing this legal loophole, the bipartisan Child Predators Accountability Act makes clear that child exploitation will never be tolerated, and anyone who uses children in any sexually exploitative context will face justice."

The legislation is endorsed by Raven, National Children's Alliance (NCA), Rights4Girls, National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies (ASCIA), and Major Counties Sheriffs Association (MCSA).

Senator Britt is a leading voice in working to protect America's youth, introducing multiple pieces of bipartisan legislation protecting children and teens online. She has led the charge on holding Big Tech accountable and calling for action to combat the harmful impacts of social media. Senator Britt also joined Senator Grassley in supporting the Stop Sextortion Act, which would target offenders that threaten to distribute child sex abuse material (CSAM) to intimidate, extort, or coerce children and she is a proud supporter of Senator Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) TAKE IT DOWN Act, which criminalizes the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), that was signed into law last year.

###