KinneyTM@state.gov
Internet Sex Offenders
 It is humbling to speak about this topic because I have
been a prosecutor long enough to remember the days
in the 1980s when we smugly believed that we had
overcome child pornography
 In those days, child pornography was hard to find
 Most child pornographers were isolated, unconnected
individuals were operated alone
 Most pornographers manufactured their own images
using polaroid cameras, and swapping and sharing
images was rare. Large collections like we see
nowadays was rare. When we seized photographs, we
destroyed them and the victimization seized
Internet Sex Offenders
 We have been challenged by new technology – the genie is
out of the bottle and in my personal opinion, it will be hard
to get him back into his bottle
 New computer and digital technology have placed internet
pornography and child pornography at everyone’s desktop,
at home, on the office or on the road.
 More than 10,000 new images of child pornography are
uploaded to the internet every week. Once on the internet,
they are always there.
Internet Set Offenders
 Individuals who molest children are able to assemble large
collections – sometimes millions of photos, and swapping
images and developing new images to swap has become a
currency for child molesters on the internet
 Individuals share victims and can use the internet to groom
and victimize other individuals.
 Critically, individuals use the internet as a means to support
each other and develop and promote other individuals who
share their illicit interest.
Internet Sex Offenders
 This is such a challenge that in August 2010, the
United States Department of Justice presented to
Congress a 150 page report outlining a National
Strategy to address child exploitation and pornography
 That report highlights a series of challenges that we are
trying to address both through legislation and through
a whole village approach, that’s to say, to wrap all
elements of civil society into a seamless web to protect
our children, to prevent exploitation and to prosecute
those individuals who would exploit our children.
Internet Sex Offenders
 Our national Strategy focuses on
 (1) Child pornography
 (2) online enticement for sexual purposes
 (3) commercial sexual exploitation of children
 (4) child sex tourism
Internet Sex Offenders
 We have dozens of statutes that address sexual
exploitation of children and almost all will apply to a
situation where the internet has been used to solicit a
child for sex, find a victim or exploit a victim.
 Our statutes are broadly drafted so that the
transmission of solicitations, or photographs or images
of children with a goal of sexual exploitation
constitutes a serious violation and will result in a
serious term of incarceration
Internet Sex Offenders
 The increasing trend of severe sentences for child
sexual exploitation, including child sexual exploitation
or recruitment over the internet is perceived in some
quarters as feeding child sex tourism where child
molesters will try to find a country, typically a poorer
country, where law enforcement is less prepared to
address child sexual exploitation, sentences are less,
there is often corruption and where it is perceived as
much safer to commit a sex offense against a child,
Internet Sex Offenders
 In the time that I have , it is impossible to go through
our entire statutory arsenal to address all our offenses
that proscribe either the use of a computer or the
internet to exploit a child but I will preview several
which highlight our attempt to criminalize using a
computer or the internet for exploitative purposes
Internet Sex Offenses
18 USC 2252
 Four basic offenses:
 (1) transporting/sending depiction of minor in sexually explicit
conduct.
 (2) Knowingly receiving or copying such

(3)selling or possession such
 (4)possessing one or more books, films or other media
 All of which include using a computer
Internet Sex Offenses
18 USC 2252
 (a) Any person who -(1) knowingly transports or ships in interstate
or foreign commerce by any means including by computer or
mails, any visual depiction, if -(A) the producing of such visual
depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit
conduct; and (B) such visual depiction is of such conduct;(2)
knowingly receives, or distributes, any visual depiction that has
been mailed, or has been shipped or transported in interstate or
foreign commerce, or which contains materials which have been
mailed or so shipped or transported, by any means including by
computer, or knowingly reproduces any visual depiction for
distribution in interstate or foreign commerce ort hrough the
mails, if -(A) the producing of such visual depiction involves the
use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and (B) such
visual depiction is of such conduct;
Internet Sex Offenses
18 USC 2252
 Whoever violates, or attempts or conspires to violate,
paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) shall be fined
under this title and imprisoned not less than 5 years and
not more than 20 years, but if such person has a prior
conviction under this chapter, chapter 71, chapter 109A, or
chapter 117, or under section920 of title 10 (article 120 of
the Uniform Code of Military Justice), or under the laws of
any State relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse,
or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor or ward, or the
production, possession, receipt, mailing ,sale, distribution,
shipment, or transportation of child pornography, such
person shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not
less than 15 years nor more than 40 years.
Internet Sex Offenses
18 USC 2251
 (a) Any person who employs, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or
coerces any minor to engage in, or who has a minor assist any
other person to engage in, or who transports any minor in
interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession
of the United States, with the intent that such minor engage in,
any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any
visual depiction of such conduct, shall be punished as provided
under subsection (e), if such person knows or has reason to know
that such visual depiction will be transported in interstate or
foreign commerce or mailed, if that visual depiction was
produced using materials that have been mailed, shipped, or
transported in interstate or foreign commerce by any means,
including by computer, or if such visual depiction has actually
been transported in interstate or foreign commerce or mailed.
Internet Sex Offenses
18 USC 2251
 (e) Any individual who violates, or attempts or conspires to
violate, this section shall be fined under this title and
imprisoned not less than 15 years nor more than 30 years,
but if such person has one prior conviction …. such person
shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for not less
than 25 years nor more than 50 years, but if such person has
2or more prior convictions under this chapter, ….relating to
the sexual exploitation of children, such person shall be
fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 35years
nor more than life.
Internet Sex Offenses
 These are only a small portion of the statutes that we use
but are what you will typically encounter in an internet
child pornography case.
 This is only a small part of the solution to address this issue
– for instance, we require providers to report when they
discover child pornography; we have a government funded
NGO that works closely with law enforcement to track child
pornography, and we undertake many other efforts in close
cooperation with society to protect our children. Criminal
prosecutions are only a small portion of our efforts.
Internet Sex Offenses
Definitions - One of Two
 Section 2256 of Title 18, United States Code, sets forth
definitions for Sections 2251, 2251A, 2252A and 2252.
 For example, "minor" refers to any person under the
age of eighteen years.
 "Sexually explicit conduct" means actual or simulated:
sexual intercourse, bestiality, masturbation, sadistic or
masochistic abuse, or lascivious exhibition of the
genitals or pubic area.
Internet Sex Offenses
Definitions – Two of Two
 The term "child pornography" is defined to include the
following: (1) visual depictions where minors are depicted
engaging in sexually explicit conduct; (2) visual depictions
which are, or appear to be, of a minor engaging in sexually
explicit conduct; (3) visual depictions which have been
created, adapted, or modified to appear that an identifiable
minor is engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or (4) visual
depictions which are advertised, promoted, presented,
described or distributed in such a manner that conveys the
impression that the material is or contains a visual depiction
of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Internet Sex Offenses
 It is important to highlight several other provisions of
our statutes that address child sexual exploitation
 (1) we provide for civil and criminal forfeiture to take
the profit out of the crime and to take away tools and
instrumentalities of the crime – houses, equipment etc
 (2) we provide for mandatory restitution
 (3) full civil remedies are available