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Klobuchar, Vitter Introduce Bill to Help Catch Child Predators

Bill would help three law enforcement agencies conduct child exploitation investigations

February 1, 2010

(Washington, DC) - U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and David Vitter (R-LA) today introduced the Arresting Child Predators Act to improve the ability for three law enforcement agencies to catch child predators.  The bill would extend administrative subpoena authority to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) specifically in cases that involve child exploitation.

“Pursuing those who seek to harm our children should be among our highest law enforcement priorities,” said Klobuchar.  “This bill will help ensure that key government agencies have the authorities they need to go after these criminals and bring them to justice.  The internet is borderless and no single law enforcement agency can fight these awful crimes alone.”

“Ensuring the safety of our children from sexual predators should be a top priority, and this bill allows the three law enforcement agencies do to so more effectively.  By allowing these agencies to conduct child exploitation investigations, we can strengthen the agencies’ ability to catch child predators and further protect our children from harm’s way,” said Vitter.

“The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children works closely with these agencies in the fight against child sexual exploitation,” said Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.  “These agencies have already apprehended thousands of offenders for child pornography, child sex tourism, child sex trafficking, and failure to register as a sex offender.  This bill will give them a vital tool, enabling them to investigate crimes against children more efficiently.”

Administrative subpoenas allow law enforcement agencies to request business documents and testimony in the course of an investigation, such as business records.  Current law only gives administrative subpoena authority to the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury in child exploitation cases, which limits the authority to the law enforcement agencies within the jurisdiction of these two agencies – the FBI and the Secret Service. 

With the rapid growth of the internet, child sexual exploitation (CSE) cases have increased dramatically.  The Arresting Child Predators Act recognizes the importance of the role that the three law enforcement agencies in preventing CSE and allows them to request documents and testimony in order to catch child predators without having to go through another agency first. 

The USMS has jurisdiction over fugitive sex predators, the USPIS has jurisdiction over child pornography that is sent through the mail or internet, and ICE has jurisdiction over cases involving foreign national pedophiles, international sex tourists, internet child pornographers, and human traffickers. 

In FY2009, more than 10,000 sex offender fugitives were arrested by the USMS, and in the first three months of FY2010, there has already been 2,146 sex offender fugitives arrested. 

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