Feb. 11, 2009

 
Editor note: To listen to an audio clip on this legislation, click here.

'Child-safe Internet' bill introduced by Rep. Pearson
Protecting kids from dangerous online predators

Emphasizing the need to address the newest high-tech ways child sex predators use to lure their victims, Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, joined with state Attorney General Rob McKenna to sponsor House Bill 1247.

"The days when all child predators roam parks, playgrounds and malls to find victims are not gone, but they are waning," said Pearson, Republican leader on the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee. "As social networking sites and Internet chat rooms become more popular forms of communication for young kids, child sex predators will gravitate to them just as they have to other areas where children congregate. My bill will begin to address this new form of predation."

House Bill 1247 would create a class C felony crime of viewing depictions of child pornography. If enacted, the legislation would allow prosecutors to more easily prosecute child sex predators. Consumers of child pornography—many whom also victimize children—currently operate under a legal loophole that allows them to view illegal images without saving them onto hard drive, protecting them from prosecution under the state’s law prohibiting actual possession of child pornography.

Pearson added that a study by the Federal Bureau of Prisons found 76 percent of offenders convicted of Internet-related crimes against children admitted to contact sex crimes with children that were previously undetected. These offenders had an average of 30.5 child victims each.

"Our law enforcement need new tools to help them prosecute crimes that use new technology," Pearson explained. "Protecting our children doesn't stop when they walk through the front door anymore. Our laws must reflect the world we live in, including in-home technology that can be used to lure and victimize children."

This bill is part of the attorney general's "Safer Internet Day" efforts, which promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world each February.

House Bill 1247 was referred to the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee, but has not yet been scheduled for a public hearing.

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