CHILD PREDATORS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

On 2026-01-12, Representative Laurel M. Lee (R-FL-15) delivered a floor speech titled "CHILD PREDATORS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT" in the House. The speech addressed trade policy and also covered crime and justice. It referenced legislation: HR6715.

CHILD PREDATORS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 8 (Monday, January 12, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 8 (Monday, January 12, 2026)] [House] [Pages H630-H632] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] CHILD PREDATORS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6715) to prohibit sexual exploitation and sexually explicit depictions of minors, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 6715 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Child Predators Accountability Act''. SEC. 2. PREVENTING SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND SEXUALLY EXPLICIT DEPICTIONS OF MINORS. (a) Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Section 2251(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after ``coerces any minor to engage in,'' the following: ``or be depicted engaging in,''. (b) Sexually Explicit Depictions of a Minor for Importation.--Section 2260(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after ``coerces any minor to engage in,'' the following: ``or be depicted engaging in,''. (c) Definition.--Section 2256 of title 18, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in paragraph (10), by striking ``and'' at the end; (2) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and (3) by adding at the end the following: ``(12) `engage in', when used with respect to a minor depicted in a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct, includes-- ``(A) the participation of the minor in the sexually explicit conduct; or ``(B) the depiction of the minor in the visual depiction of the sexually explicit conduct, regardless of whether the minor participated in such conduct, if the defendant intentionally included such minor in the visual depiction.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Harris) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina. General Leave Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6715. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from North Carolina? There was no objection. Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the state of child protection in our Nation and around the world is deeply alarming and demands our immediate and undivided attention. Sadly, in today's world and today's age, child sexual abuse material, better known as CSAM, has never been more prevalent. {time} 1610 According to a study from February 2025, 1 in 12 children worldwide have been subjected to online sexual exploitation or abuse. Even more troubling: The vast majority of child sexual abuse, over 90 percent in many documented cases, is perpetrated by someone whom the child knows or is related to, whether family members, trusted adults, or acquaintances. These are not distant strangers. They are often people with direct access to our children, making the betrayal all the more heartbreaking. We, in Congress, have a duty to act decisively. We must commit ourselves fully to making the internet and our entire society a safer place for America's children and children everywhere. My bill, the Child Predators Accountability Act, strengthens the criminal code to hold perpetrators accountable and to protect our children. Under current law, the definition of ``sexually explicit material'' requires that a child be engaged in sexually explicit conduct for the material to qualify. This narrow wording has created a dangerous loophole. In one egregious case, a defendant produced a sexually explicit video that included a child who was merely present, passive, and not actively participating. Since the child was not deemed to be ``engaged in'' the act, the conviction for distributing CSAM was overturned. The predator was let off the hook for using a child due to a technicality in the statute. Mr. Speaker, this cannot stand. We cannot allow one rogue case to lead to a domino effect of bad case law and less protection for these vulnerable children. No predator should escape accountability simply because they included a minor in the frame but did not physically touch or direct them in the explicit conduct. Such content is profoundly abusive. It exploits the child's presence, dignity, and vulnerability for depraved purposes. It inflicts lasting harm and deserves to be unequivocally classified as CSAM. My bill delivers a precise, necessary fix. It amends the law to clarify that the depiction of a minor would qualify [[Page H631]] as sexually explicit conduct, regardless of whether the minor participated in such conduct, if the defendant intentionally included the minor in the visual depiction. This closes a loophole and equips prosecutors and law enforcement with clearer tools that will ensure justice for the victims. The Child Predators Accountability Act is a straightforward, commonsense measure that will help hold exploiters accountable and prevent future abuses. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join with me in defending our children by voting in favor of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am rising in strong support of H.R. 6715, the Child Predators Accountability Act of 2025. Mr. Speaker, the decision that the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina references out of the Seventh Circuit, United States v. Howard, threatens to significantly limit prosecutors' ability to hold some of the worst child predators to account legally. The question may appear to be technical, but the human consequences are grave and brutally simple. Title 18 of the United States Code, section 2251(a), criminalizes the production of child sex abuse material. For decades, prosecutors have used the law to target predators who prey on children or who produce ghastly images of child sex abuse, but the Seventh Circuit's ruling in the Howard case in 2020 jeopardized prosecutors' ability to go after these dangerous people until they actually abuse the child and create an image of the abuse. The Howard decision narrowed the scope of section 2251(a), holding that the mere physical presence of the minor in a visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct does not automatically violate the statute. To obtain a conviction for production of CSAM in the Seventh Circuit, the child in the photo, video, or image must themselves be engaged in the explicit conduct. This is an absurd reading that we can and must legislatively resolve. The Howard ruling undermines the ability to prosecute common scenarios involving the surreptitious recording of kids; for example, when criminals plant concealed cameras in bathrooms, locker rooms, and bedrooms to record sexually explicit images of children who are unaware that they are even being filmed. Criminals who record themselves sexually violating very young children, such as infants and toddlers, who are too young to understand that they are being filmed in sexually explicit scenarios could also conceivably avoid prosecution under the pinched reasoning of the Howard decision. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6715 would make clear that even the passive use of a child in the production of child sex abuse materials is a crime, and it will eliminate any confusion caused by the Seventh Circuit's ruling in Howard. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs). Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his work on this bill and the bipartisan work from the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, which has worked on this, and I appreciate that very much. The ranking member, the whole committee, and the entire Committee on the Judiciary has banded together, which if you ever watched the Judiciary Committee, you would know that this is a remarkable time. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the support that we have here because anyone who exploits a child for sexual purposes must face full accountability and must face the full measure of the law. There cannot be loopholes or technicalities that would let predators slip through the cracks, and when we find them, this body has to fix that. Protecting minors from sexual exploitation remains a core priority for our Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance. A recent decision by the Seventh Circuit in United States v. Howard exposed a dangerous gap in current law. Both of the previous speakers have spoken to that, but that really is the crux of this. The court overturned a conviction for producing child sexual abuse material because the minor--a sleeping, clothed child--was merely present in the video, not touched, actively involved, or engaged. In that case, the defendant filmed himself in sexual conduct near his 9-year-old niece. The court ruled that he did not use her under existing statute because she was passive. That interpretation is utterly unacceptable. Predators should not evade justice simply because the child whom they exploit is unaware. The harm is real. The intent is clear. This loophole weakens 18 United States Code, section 2251(a), and related statutes, making it harder to prosecute offenders and easier for exploiters to walk free and then exploit others and create more victims. The Child Predators Accountability Act of 2025 closes this gap by clarifying that a minor is engaged in sexually ex

Referenced legislation: HR6715, HR6715