NCJ Number
178848
Journal
Northwestern University Law Review Volume: 92 Issue: 4 Dated: Summer 1998 Pages: 1307-1315
Date Published
1998
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article critiques Federal legislative efforts to protect teenagers from sexual predators, with attention to predators' use of the Internet to lure juvenile victims into physical sexual contact.
Abstract
Over the past few years, Congress has turned its attention to protecting children by enacting two key pieces of legislation that enhance the criminal penalties for various forms of child molestation, including the creation and distribution of child pornography: the Sex Crimes Against Children Prevention Act of 1995 and the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996. Pending legislation in Congress includes the Child Exploitation Sentencing Enhancement Act of 1997 and the Child Protection and Sexual Predator Punishment Act of 1998. Despite these efforts to protect children through the enactment of stiffer penalties, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines that apply to these crimes often distinguish between children under the age of 12 and those preteens and teenaged children most likely to be lured through the Internet. As prosecutors see an increasing number of Internet predators who target the preteen and teenaged child, the sentencing guidelines that apply to these offenses reflect an archaic understanding of the dynamics of such offenses. Congress must review and analyze the burgeoning number of Internet luring cases that are facing both local and Federal law enforcement and examine the unique and disturbing behavior of the defendants. It is only through an understanding of the idiosyncratic and pervasive deception that these defendants weave that courts and society can better address these cases. 34 footnotes