Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) reintroduced the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act, a bill that both toughens the sentence for possessing child pornography and stops judges from sentencing offenders below the federal guidelines.
The epidemic of child pornography in the United States has exploded. Just over a decade ago, the number of images of child sexual abuse material online was less than 1 million. That number grew to 45 million in 2018, and to 85 million in 2021.
“We need to do more to protect our children. The problem of child pornography has grown exponentially worse over the years – in part because the existing penalties are too weak, and because too many judges are issuing lenient sentences,” said Senator Hawley. “Congress must act now to ensure tougher penalties are enforced against these criminals.”
By federal statute, judges are required to sentence criminals within ranges set by the federal “Sentencing Guidelines,” subject to some exceptions. In 2003, Congress passed the original PROTECT Act to curtail the exceptions—and enhance the penalties—in child pornography cases.
The PROTECT Act worked. But the Supreme Court gutted it in 2005, in United States v. Booker, a controversial 5-4 decision. Since then, some federal judges have used their discretion to impose lenient sentences on child porn offenders. Senator Hawley’s bill would prevent judges from doing so in the future.
More recently, Senator Hawley introduced this bill in March of 2022. It was blocked by Democrats upon Senator Hawley’s request for unanimous consent.
The PROTECT Act of 2023 would:
- Enhance the penalties for possessing child pornography. Federal law imposes a 5-year mandatory-minimum for receiving child pornography but not for possessing it. There is no meaningful difference between possession and receipt. This change will align the penalties and apply a 5-year mandatory minimum to both offenses to ensure that every child pornography offender goes to jail.
- Make the Guidelines binding again. The Supreme Court declared in United States v. Booker that the Guidelines cannot be binding if based on facts found by a judge after trial. This bill would prohibit judges from sentencing below the Guidelines range for facts found during trial or admitted by the defendant. This change will ensure that judges impose tougher sentences on child pornography offenders.
View legislative text for the bill here.