Children's Safety Act of 2005
CHILDREN'S SAFETY ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - September 14, 2005)
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Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I support H.R. 3132. It is an important bill that will help ensure the safety of American children against sexual predators.
In recent months we have heard all too often about the innocent lives of children being shattered by an adult who sexually abuses the child.
We are all familiar with the cases, some of which have been mentioned today, such as Jessica Lunsford who was kidnapped, held captive, abused and tortured for 3 days by a convicted sex offender who ultimately killed her by burying her alive.
And there was the case of 8-year-old Shasta Groene who was kidnapped, sexually abused, and held captive for weeks by a convicted sex offender who murdered her family.
These stories are atrocious and that is why Congress is acting to further protect American children with the Children's Safety Act.
The bill requires jurisdiction-wide sex offender registries containing information like where the sex offender resides and is employed or attends school. The bill requires a sex offender to appear in person at least once every 6 months to verify their registration information.
The bill also creates a new Federal crime for failure to register as a sex offender and sets the mandatory minimum for that offense at 5 years and a maximum of 20 years.
The bill sets other mandatory minimum sentences for crimes of violence against children like murder, kidnapping, maiming, aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse or where the crime results in serious bodily injury.
The statistics surrounding child sexual abuse are astonishing--1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood. And one of every six sexually assaulted victims is under the age of 6.
We must protect our children by every possible means. The Children's Safety Act of 2005 will help us do so and for that reason I support this legislation.
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