CONTENTS Page WITNESSES Victoria Toensing, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Steven Bishop, Postal Inspector, Manager of Fraud and Prohibited Mailing Branch, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Daniel Mihalko, Program Manager for Prohibited Mailing, Fraud and Pro- ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Report to Peter W. Rodino, Jr., from John R. Bolton, Assistant Attorney Statement of Lawrence Lippe concerning S. 2398 before the Senate Juvenile Statement of Lawrence Lippe concerning S. 1305, computer pornography Letter to Chairman William J. Hughes from C.R. Clauson, October 9, 1986.. Report, Child Pornography and Pedophilia, Senate Permanent Subcommittee CHILD PROTECTION ACT THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 1986 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME, The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m., in room 304, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. William J. Hughes (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representative Harley O. Staggers. Staff Present: Hayden W. Gregory, counsel; Eric E. Sterling, assistant counsel; Charlene Vanlier Heydinger, associate counsel; and Phyllis N. Henderson, clerk. Mr. HUGHES. The subcommittee will come to order. Today the Subcommittee on Crime is examining the Federal Government's efforts in combatting the terrible crime of molesting children in the production of pornography. The particular ugliness of this crime makes this hearing an unpleasant one for the subcommittee to undertake. However, there are few crimes for which the public revulsion is greater, and therefore, it is our responsibility that we be satisfied that our law enforcement agencies are aggressively and effectively prosecuting these crimes. If the Federal statutes are inadequate to address the crimes that occur within the limits of Federal jurisdiction, it is our responsibility to correct the law. The statements submitted to the subcommittee indicate that the Child Protection Act of 1984, which this subcommittee developed in the last Congress, has given our law enforcement agencies enormously powerful tools to investigate the producers of child pornography. Three years ago the Department of Justice testified before this subcommittee and said, "Regrettably, we have been singularly unsuccessful in developing prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. 2251," the child pornography statute. In less than a year the two Houses of Congress sent to the President the act which has substantially enhanced our ability to fight child pornographers. Whereas in the 6 years between May 1977 and June 1983 the Department of Justice indicted just 67 persons for child pornography offenses, in the first 9 months of this fiscal year, the Postal Inspection Service alone has made over 200 child pornography arrests. I am pleased that today the Department of Justice is able to tell the subcommittee that the results of these efforts are "extremely gratifying," and they advise us that the volume of investigations is now so high that coordination of the investigators and prosecutors is an important issue. The Subcommittee on Crime has been extremely busy this year with gun control and our white collar crime investigations, and, I might note parenthetically that yesterday the Judiciary Committee reported the last two of our seven bills that are the cornerstones of the Congress' Omnibus Anti-Narcotics legislation. Yesterday, we completed action on measures to substantially strengthen the Controlled Substances Act and to provide critically needed resources for our drug enforcement programs. Two weeks ago we completed action on measures that will effectively combat all types of designer drugs, that will enable us to prosecute those who launder the proceeds of narcotics trafficking and other major crimes, and that will provide long mandatory prison terms to career drug dealers. Nonetheless, as busy as we have been, the totally abhorrent nature of molesting children to produce pornography requires that we take the time now to examine our law enforcement efforts to determine what improvements are called for. I am delighted that our first witness this morning, the distinguished Senator from Delaware, William Roth, has been able to take a few minutes from his labors with the conference on tax reform to join us to discuss his legislative initiative to further improve the child pornography laws. His subcommittee, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has undertaken a very important examination of this problem, and we are delighted that he will be able to share his insights with us. We will also be hearing from the Department of Justice and the hard working staff at the Postal Inspection Service. I look forward to working with you, Senator, to move forward any legislation that is necessary to give to our law enforcement teams every necessary tool to protect our children and our families from those who would shatter their lives in the most disgusting and depraved manner. Our first witness this morning, as I have indicated, is Senator William V. Roth, who represents the State of Delaware. Senator Roth has an MBA from Harvard Business School and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School. He rose to the rank of captain in the military and is a member of the Delaware and California bars. He was first elected to Congress in November 1966 and in 1970 was elected to the U.S. Senate. He chairs the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He is the sponsor of S. 2398, a bill which would ban the production and use of advertisements for child pornography. Senator, we are delighted to have you with us this morning. Your statement will be made a part of the record, without objection. There is nobody here to object. We want to welcome you. Thank you so much for joining us. STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM V. ROTH, JR., A SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF DELAWARE Senator ROTH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me, as long as we are going back and reviewing our history, point out I once had the pleasure of serving on the House Judiciary Committee. So, it is very nice to be back here. I do want to express my appreciation to you and to the subcommittee for the good work that it has done in the areas of child pornography and child abuse. I think anyone who reads the newspaper or watches the news on TV, can have no doubt but that these two closely related evils constitute one of the most serious problems facing our Nation today. It seems that scarcely a day goes by without another report of the abuse of another child or children by a relative, by a babysitter, or some other adult in a position of trust. In the morning paper, I don't know if you saw it or not-15 men were indicted on child pornography charges. It is interesting that their ages range from 28 to 73. I have no doubt but that-in fact, the article points out-the Child Protection Act of 1984 was a key factor in the indictments. So, I do congratulate the subcommittee for the role it has played. As you know, the Child Protection Act of 1984 originated in this subcommittee. The law enforcement authorities now have the tools, basically, that they need to identify, arrest, and convict child abusers and child pornographers. Earlier this month my subcommittee, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations [PSI], released a report on child pornography and pedophilia. As was pointed out, Mr. Chairman, in that article, there is some good news, but there is also some very bad news. The good news is the dramatic increase in the number of indictments of child pornographers under this new act; the fact that the child pornography industry has been driven underground; and, of course, we are also pleased that there has been on the whole good international cooperation. But as I said, there is bad news, as well. Even though child pornography has been driven underground, it is still available to those who know how to get it. In fact, our study points out that the pornography really is the livelihood of a loosely organized network of pedophiles who continue to pose a serious threat to the well-being of our Nation's children. One inescapable conclusion of our investigation is that child pornography plays a central role in child molestations by pedophiles, serving to justify their conduct, to assist them in seducing their victims, and of course, providing the means to blackmail the children they have molested. This sordid material, along with the thinly disguised solicitations for child prostitution, and information on children who may be available for molestation, is openly advertised in newsletters and other materials published by pedophile support groups. Even though child pornography and child prostitution are illegal, the advertisements, under current law, are not. |