House Judiciary Committee votes to report bill criminalizing sextortion of minors

Rep. Miss Lee (Representative from Florida) introduced HR 671, the Combating Online Predators Act, saying the bill would close what she called a gap in federal law by explicitly criminalizing the knowing threat to distribute child sexual-abuse material to coerce a minor to produce or transmit explicit conduct. "Sextortion occurs when a predator threatens to distribute [explicit images] ... unless the child complies," Lee said, arguing the update would let prosecutors charge and sentence predators appropriately.

The bill would amend provisions of Title 18 (sections cited in the markup as 2252 and 2252A) to cover threats used as leverage to coerce minors. Lee said reports of sextortion have increased and described a recent case in which a 15-year-old died by suicide after being targeted.

The committee’s Ranking Member expressed broad support for the bill’s objective but said several bills on the day’s agenda had been included through the National Defense Authorization Act process without extended hearings and suggested improvements, including attention to the financial components of sextortion. He said he planned to vote for the bill and to work with the sponsor on refinements.

Lee offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute she described as a technical short-title change that did not alter substance. The committee adopted the substitute by voice vote and then voted to report the bill favorably to the House. The chair announced members would have two days to submit views and authorized staff to make technical and conforming changes.

Next steps: The bill will be placed on the committee’s reported docket for House consideration and any member views must be filed within two days.