119-hr5538

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5538 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 5538

 To direct the Attorney General to convene a national working group to 
study proactive strategies and needed resources for the identification 
 and rescue of children from sexual exploitation and abuse, and for 
 other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 September 19, 2025

Mr. Vindman (for himself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To direct the Attorney General to convene a national working group to 
study proactive strategies and needed resources for the identification 
 and rescue of children from sexual exploitation and abuse, and for 
 other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Child Rescue Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) The growing international trade in child sexual abuse 
 material creates demand and incentive for the sexual assault of 
 children throughout the United States.

    (2) United States law enforcement efforts to combat child 
 sexual exploitation have the potential to help multiple 
 distinct groups of victims, including--
        (A) children depicted in child sexual abuse 
 material

    (CSAM) who are still being abused;
        (B) children and adults whose victimization as a 
 child continues to be viewed and shared online; and
            (C) children who are being sexually abused or 
 exploited by adults who could be interdicted while 
 accessing or sharing CSAM online.

    (3) In 2021, law enforcement investigative systems detected 
 more than 325,000 unique Internet Protocol addresses in the 
 United States seen distributing child sexual abuse material 
 across peer-to-peer file sharing networks.

    (4) A growing body of research, including academic studies, 
 analysis by the United States Sentencing Commission, and 
 findings by law enforcement polygraphers, indicates that a 
 significant percentage of majority of individuals possessing 
 and sharing CSAM are ``dual offenders'' who possess illegal 
 imagery and also commit contact offenses. In 2021, the United 
 States Sentencing Commission found that in fiscal year 2019, 48 
 percent of ``non-production child pornography offenders engaged 
 in aggravating sexual conduct prior to, or concurrently with'', 
 their current offense. Studies including Seto et al, the Butner 
 Redux, the OJJDP study, and Bourke et al Tactical Polygraph 
 study have found that between 50 and 80 percent of offenders 
 who possess CSAM are also committing contact sexual offenses 
 against children.

    (5) According to a 2018 study by the National Center for 
 Missing and Exploited Children

    (NCMEC) , ``in cases involving a 
 single victim and single offender, actively traded cases were 
 associated with having prepubescent victims. Actively traded 
 cases were also associated with more egregious content in terms 
 of sexual activity, and more likely to involve familial 
 offenders, particularly nuclear family members''.

    (6) CyberTipline reports often lead to the rescue of 
 children through the successful investigation of offenders who 
 are not only exploiting children by circulating CSAM, but who 
 are also committing contact offenses. In 2020, 21,700,000 
 CyberTipline reports were submitted to NCMEC and approximately 
 288,000 CyberTipline reports were made available to the 61 
 Internet Crimes Against Children

    (ICAC) units across the 
 country.

    (7) United States law enforcement's ability to detect and 
 interdict online traffic in CSAM provides an opportunity to 
 locate sexual predators and rescue children through victim-
 centric investigations.

    (8) With inadequate resources, United States law 
 enforcement agencies are increasingly unable to adequately 
 respond to this rapidly growing number of CyberTips and other 
 investigative leads, a problem which also reduces the number of 
 proactive undercover investigations and education activities 
 they can conduct.

    (9) Investigations of these crimes are complicated by the 
 increasing prevalence of encryption and anonymizing services 
 available to offenders.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES WORKING GROUP ON CHILDREN IN IMMINENT DANGER OF 
 SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a national 
working group, to be known as the ``United States Working Group on 
Children in Imminent Danger of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation'' 
(hereinafter referred to as the ``Working Group''), to study victim-
centric policing strategies and resource needs to identify and rescue--

    (1) children in the United States who are visually depicted 
 in child sexual abuse material;

    (2) children in the United States who are victims of sexual 
 abuse by individuals who are engaged in an offense relating to 
 child sexual abuse materials; and

    (3) children located outside the United States who are 
 visually depicted in child sexual abuse materials where the 
 perpetrators are in the United States.

    (b) Duties of the Working Group.--

    (1) Information request.--Not later than 30 days after the 
 establishment of the Working Group under subsection

    (a) , the 
 Working Group shall solicit from each State, Tribal, or local 
 law enforcement agency the information necessary to develop the 
 estimates under paragraph

    (2) .

    (2) Development of estimates.--The Working Group shall:
        (A) Develop estimates of the total number of 
 individuals suspected with respect to child sexual 
 abuse material or other crimes involving sexual contact 
 with children in the United States, including those who 
 are--
            (i) known to a law enforcement agency;
            (ii) identified by law enforcement through 
 proactive policing; or
            (iii) reported to the CyberTipline of NCMEC 
 (or any successor to the CyberTipline operated 
 by NCMEC).
        (B) Develop estimates of the total number of child 
 victims of child sexual abuse in the United States who 
 could be located and protected from further abuse 
 through the apprehension of suspects described under 
 subparagraph
        (A) .
            (C) Develop recommendations of the funding, 
 resources, and proactive and reactive strategies 
 necessary for law enforcement agencies to successfully 
 identify, locate, and protect child victims--
            (i) described in subparagraph
        (B) ; and
            (ii) who appear in child sexual abuse 
 material known to a law enforcement agency or 
 NCMEC.
            (D) Develop or obtain estimates of the number of 
 child sexual abuse reports made annually to law 
 enforcement agencies and to State, Tribal, and local 
 child protective services, broken out by locality and 
 relationship between victim and offender, including 
 adults in a position of trust or authority.
        (E) Develop recommendations for strategies, best 
 practices, and resources that could be used by law 
 enforcement agencies to determine whether offenders 
 alleged to have committed a crime involving sexual 
 contact should also be investigated for potential child 
 sexual abuse material crimes.
        (F) Develop recommendations of victim-centric and 
 proactive policing strategies, international 
 collaboration, and resource needs to apprehend 
 offenders in the United States who are engaged in 
 offenses related to children as described in subsection

    (a)

    (3) .
        (G) Develop estimates of, or compile data solicited 
 under paragraph

    (1) --
            (i) the number of adults who were arrested 
 by law enforcement agencies during the 5-year 
 period preceding the date of enactment of this 
 Act, by year, for offenses or violations 
 described in subparagraphs
        (A) through
            (D) ;
            (ii) the number of adults who were 
 prosecuted at the State, Tribal, or Federal 
 level during the 5-year period preceding the 
 date of the enactment of the Act, by year, for 
 offenses described in subparagraphs
        (A) through
            (D) ; and
            (iii) the number of children who are 
 unidentified victims of child sexual abuse 
 material described in subparagraph
            (C) 
            (ii) .
        (H) Analyze and summarize common reasons why 
 investigations of reports of child sexual abuse or 
 exploitation do not go forward.
            (I) Develop guidance for Internet Crimes Against 
 Children Task Forces to adopt a prioritization 
 framework with respect to the investigation and 
 prosecution of all child sexual abuse and exploitation, 
 including prioritizing investigating individuals using 
 encryption or anonymization.
        (J) Develop guidance on the Attorney General's 
 response to technology companies that refuse to comply 
 with lawful requests for information related to 
 offenders who use virtual private networks.
        (K) Evaluate the current duties and 
 responsibilities of ICAC Task Forces pursuant to 
 

section 21114 of title 34, United States Code, 
 including on--
            (i) workloads; and
            (ii) their ability to pursue investigations 
 which are most likely to result in the 
 identification of offenders described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) and children described in 
 subparagraph
        (B) .

    (3) Report.--
        (A) In general.--Not later than 365 days after the 
 date of enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall 
 submit to the Attorney General, the Committee on the 
 Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on 
 Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on the 
 Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the 
 Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
 Representatives, a report that contains--
            (i) a detailed statement of the findings 
 and conclusions of the Working Group, together 
 with recommendations for legislation; and
            (ii) a summary of the support, documents, 
 and witnesses provided by the Attorney General 
 to the Working Group.
        (B) Material included.--A majority vote of the 
 members of the Working Group shall determine the 
 findings, conclusions, and recommendations included in 
 the report submitted under subparagraph
        (A) .
            (C) Documentation of numerical edits.--If for any 
 reason the Working Group is unable to develop the 
 estimates under paragraph

    (2) , the Working Group shall 
 in the report under this paragraph document the reasons 
 such estimates could not be developed and make 
 recommendations toward developing such estimates.
            (c) Members of the Working Group.--

    (1) In general.--
        (A) Attorney general discretion.--The Working Group 
 shall be composed of representatives of Federal 
 departments and agencies, law enforcement agencies, 
 Tribal governmental agencies, nongovernmental 
 organizations, and other subject matter experts as the 
 Attorney General determines appropriate.
        (B) Specified members.--The Attorney General shall 
 appoint representatives of the following agencies and 
 nongovernmental organizations to the Working Group:
            (i) Three representatives from State or 
 unit of local government who have received a 
 grant from the Internet Crimes Against Children 
 Task Force program with extensive, direct 
 experience conducting both CyberTipline 
 investigations and proactive, online undercover 
 investigations, including the use of 
 specialized tools for peer-to-peer 
 investigations.
            (ii) The Chief or Deputy Chief of the Child 
 Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the 
 Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.
            (iii) The National Coordinator for Child 
 Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction of the 
 Department of Justice.
            (iv) A representative of the Behavioral 
 Analysis Unit of the United States Marshals 
 Service with subject matter expertise in child 
 exploitation offenders who also commit contact 
 offenses.
            (v) A special agent of Homeland Security 
 Investigations with expertise in both 
 CyberTipline investigations and proactive 
 online investigations.
            (vi) A subject matter expert within 
 Homeland Security Investigations with expertise 
 in child victim identification.
            (vii) A special agent of the Federal Bureau 
 of Investigation with expertise in both 
 CyberTipline investigations and proactive 
 online investigations and the use of polygraphs 
 in child sexual abuse material investigations.
            (viii) A representative from the National 
 Children's Alliance with expertise in child 
 exploitation and child victim forensic 
 interviewing.
            (ix) A special agent of the United States 
 Secret Service with expertise in investigations 
 of child sexual abuse material or polygraphs of 
 child sexual exploitation suspects.
            (x) A Postal Inspector at the United States 
 Postal Inspection Service with expertise in 
 child sexual abuse material investigations.
            (xi) A representative from the National 
 District Attorney's Association.
            (xii) A representative from the academic 
 community with expertise in developing 
 technology that can proactively detect the 
 distribution of child sexual abuse material 
 online.
            (xiii) A representative of the Office of 
 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 
 with expertise in available data sources and 
 methods for developing prevalence estimates 
 using direct and indirect methods of 
 estimation.
            (xiv) A representative of the Executive 
 Office of the United States Attorney.
            (xv) A recently retired Internet Crimes 
 Against Children Task Force Commander.
            (xvi) A representative from National Child 
 Protection Task Force.
            (xvii) Representatives from the Department 
 of Justice Office of Tribal Justice and the 
 Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice 
 Services.
            (xviii) A representative of the Rape, Abuse 
 & Incest National Network with subject matter 
 expertise on child sexual exploitation and 
 abuse.
            (xix) A representative of the International 
 Justice Mission with subject matter expertise 
 on cross-border, live-streamed child sexual 
 abuse.
            (C) Technical assistance.--The Working Group shall 
 establish a Technical Assistance Board to provide 
 guidance and technical assistance to the Working Group, 
 composed of the following:
            (i) A representative from the ICAC Child 
 Online Protection System

    (ICACCOPS) at the 
 National Criminal Justice Training Center with 
 subject matter expertise on child sexual 
 exploitation and abuse investigations.
            (ii) A representative from the Child Rescue 
 Coalition with subject matter expertise on the 
 Child Protection System and other child sexual 
 exploitation and abuse investigations.
            (iii) A representative from the National 
 Center for Missing and Exploited Children with 
 subject matter expertise on child sexual 
 exploitation and abuse and child victim 
 identification.
 The Working Group shall consult with the members of the 
 Technical Assistance Board throughout the execution of 
 its duties under subsection

    (b) . Representatives of the 
 Technical Assistance Board under paragraph

    (1) from 
 each organization shall have the right to be present at 
 each Working Group meeting.

    (2) Cessation of membership.--If an individual is appointed 
 to the Working Group based on membership in an agency or 
 organization and the individual ceases to be a member of that 
 agency or organization, the individual shall cease to be a 
 member of the Working Group on the date on which the member 
 ceases to be a member of the agency or organization.

    (3) Terms.--A member of the Working Group shall be 
 appointed for the life of the Working Group.

    (4) Vacancies.--
        (A) Vacancy before expiration of term.--A member 
 appointed to the Working Group to fill a vacancy 
 occurring before the expiration of the term for which 
 the member's predecessor was appointed shall be 
 appointed only for the remainder of that term.
        (B) Manner of appointment.--A vacancy in the 
 Working Group shall be filled in the manner in which 
 the original appointment was made.

    (5) Compensation.--A member of the Working Group shall 
 serve without pay.

    (6) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Working Group 
 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 
 hearings.

    (7) Chairperson.--The Chairperson of the Working Group 
 shall be appointed by the Attorney General from the membership 
 of the Working Group.

    (8) Meetings.--The Working Group shall hold virtual 
 meetings monthly, and any subgroup of the Working Group shall 
 hold additional meetings as necessary.
            (d) Staff of Working Group; Experts and Consultants.--

    (1) Staff.--The Chairperson of the Working Group may 
 appoint and fix the pay of additional personnel as the 
 Chairperson considers appropriate.

    (2) Experts and consultants.--The Chairperson of the 
 Working Group may procure temporary and intermittent services 
 under 

section 3109

    (b) of title 5, United States Code.

    (3) Detailees.--Upon request of the Chairperson of the 
 Working Group, the head of any Federal department or agency may 
 detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that 
 department or agency to the Working Group to assist in carrying 
 out the duties of the Working Group under this Act.

    (e) Powers of the Working Group.--

    (1) Subpoena power.--
        (A) By working group.--The Working may subpoena 
 witnesses and records related to the purposes of this 
 Act.
        (B) Enforcement.--The district courts of the United 
 States have jurisdiction to enforce a subpoena issued 
 under this section. Trial is in the district in which 
 the proceeding is conducted. The court may punish a 
 refusal to obey a subpoena as a contempt of court.

    (2) Hearings and sessions.--
        (A) In general.--The Working Group may, for the 
 purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit 
 and act at times and places, take testimony, and 
 receive evidence as the Working Group considers 
 appropriate.
        (B) Witnesses.--The Working Group may administer 
 oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing before the 
 Working Group.

    (3) Powers of members and agents.--Any member or agent of 
 the Working Group may, if authorized by the Chairperson, take 
 any action that the Working Group is authorized to take under 
 this Section, including requesting information.

    (4) Obtaining official information.--
        (A) United states agencies and departments.--
            (i) In general.--The Working Group may 
 secure directly from any department or agency 
 of the United States information necessary to 
 enable the Working Group to carry out this Act.
            (ii) Furnishing information.--Upon request 
 of the Chairperson of the Working Group for 
 information solicited pursuant to subsection

    (b) , the head of the department or agency of 
 the United States shall furnish that 
 information to the Working Group.
        (B) State and local information.--
            (i) In general.--The Working Group may 
 obtain and review information and data from 
 State and local departments and agencies for 
 purposes of carrying out this Act.
            (ii) Costs.--The Working Group shall pay 
 reasonable costs to state and local agencies 
 for records obtained pursuant to subsection

    (b) .

    (5) Clearance for members of working group.--In the case 
 that the Working Group interacts with controlled unclassified 
 information, the Working Group shall follow all laws, 
 regulations, and government-wide policies with respect to such 
 information.

    (f) Termination of Working Group.--

    (1) In general.--The Working Group shall terminate 120 days 
 after submission of the report under 

section 9, unless the 
 Attorney General determines that such termination is not 
 appropriate.

    (2) Reconvening group.--If the Working Group terminates 
 under subsection

    (a) , the Attorney General may reconvene the 
 Working Group in accordance with this Act. If the Attorney 
 General reconvenes the Working Group, the Working Group shall 
 be convened in accordance with this section. The Attorney 
 General may re-appoint members to the Working Group who served 
 a previous term if the Working Group is reconvened.

    (g) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Child.--The term ``child'' means any individual under 
 the age of eighteen years.

    (2) Child sexual abuse material.--The term ``child sexual 
 abuse material'' shall have the meaning given the term ``child 
 pornography'' in 

section 2256 of title 18, United States Code.

    (3) Crime involving sexual contact.--The term ``crime 
 involving sexual contact'' means--
        (A) an offense involving a child under chapter 109A 
 of title 18, United States Code, or any attempt or 
 conspiracy to commit such an offense; or
        (B) an offense involving a child under a State or 
 Tribal statute that is similar to a provision described 
 in subparagraph
        (A) .

    (4) Known to law enforcement.--The term ``known to law 
 enforcement'' means that a Federal, State, Tribal, or local law 
 enforcement agency has evidence of a crime that can be 
 attributed to a person or location, including an email address, 
 Internet Protocol address, screen name, universally unique 
 identifier, phone number, or other information attributable to 
 that person or location.

    (5) Law enforcement agency.--The term ``law enforcement 
 agency'' means an agency of the Federal Government, a State, a 
 political subdivision of a State, or a federally recognized 
 tribe that is authorized by law to supervise the prevention, 
 detection, investigation, or prosecution of any violation of 
 criminal law.

    (6) NCMEC.--The term ``NCMEC'' means the National Center 
 for Missing & Exploited Children.

    (7) Proactive policing.--The term ``proactive policing'' 
 means a covert or undercover investigation conducted by a law 
 enforcement agency that involves a person or organization that 
 the law enforcement agency believes is engaging or has engaged 
 in an offense or violation relating to child sexual abuse, 
 child sexual abuse material, child exploitation, or child sex 
 trafficking crimes.

    (8) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
 Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United 
 States.

    (9) Victim-centric.--The term ``victim-centric'' refers to 
 the systematic focus on the needs and concerns of a victim to 
 ensure that services are delivered in a compassionate, 
 sensitive, non-judgmental, and culturally considerate manner 
 that seeks to minimize retraumatization associated with the 
 criminal justice process by providing the support of victim 
 advocates and service providers, empowering victims as engaged 
 participants in the process, and providing victims an 
 opportunity to play a role in seeing their abusers brought to 
 justice.

    (10) United states.--The term ``United States'' means the 
 50 States of the United States of America and the District of 
 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin 
 Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman 
 Reef, Johnston Atoll, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any 
 other trust territory or possession of the United States.
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