U.S. Attorney General asks for stronger penalties against child exploitation
Kansas City, Missouri (AP) -- Federal and local authorities in the United States arrested more than 1,600 people accused of exploiting children over the Internet last year, a fivefold increase over 2000. But Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Thursday the problem will continues to grow as the Internet has given child pornographers ad people seeking trysts with minors easier access to young users, and made it easier to hide from law enforcement.
"The only way to respond to their horrific ambitions is to respond with greater perseverance," said Gonzales, speaking at the Protect Our Children Conference, a three-day event bringing law enforcement from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Nebraska together with child advocates and abuse treatment organizations. In particular, Gonzales said U.S. states need to re-evaluate their laws against child exploitation and make them stronger, if necessary.
Missouri, for example, enacted legislation this year that boosts the penalties for many child sex crimes, such as a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for someone convicted of trying to entice a child into meeting to have sex.
President George W. Bush this summer signed into law legislation that effectively doubles many federal sentences for pedophiles, as well as requiring offenders to place their names and locations on Internet databases and be charged with a felony for not providing regular updates.
Gonzales said federal, state and local law enforcement are doing a better job of coordinating their efforts and teaming up with community organizations that teach parents and children how to avoid online predators and deal with the aftermath when children are abused. He added that federal authorities are increasingly reaching out to other countries, where much of the child pornography now traded among pedophiles is made and distributed, to strengthen their own child sex laws.