Internet Crimes Against Children: A Matrix of Federal and Select State Laws

• NCJ Number: 228812
• Author(s): Patrick Miller; Alice R. Buchalter
• Date Published: October 2009
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): 09-12-9699119-002
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis

Annotation

This report presents the major provisions of Federal and select laws of 10 States that impose civil and criminal sanctions against persons convicted of Internet crimes against children; and it summarizes the major provisions and status of proposed legislation currently before the U.S. Congress and respective State legislatures.

Abstract

The pertinent laws of the following 10 States were surveyed, as they were judged to have enacted major legislation: California, Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Pertinent laws are grouped into the following subtopics: unwanted sexual solicitation, pornography (children as the subject), and harassment and bullying. For each of these subcategories, offenses are defined and the range of sanctions upon conviction are specified. Legislative provisions are presented in tabular form, first as enacted and proposed at the Federal level, and then as enacted and proposed at the State level for each of the 10 States. The primary online sources for this report are the U.S. Code, State codes and statutes, State legislature Web sites, and the Library of Congress THOMAS Web site.