Congress Sends Pedophile Bill to White House

Pedophiles who find victims on the Internet would face new and increased penalties under a bill Congress passed Monday and sent to the White House.

The administration supports the measure, which the House endorsed in a 400-0 vote Monday. The Senate had passed the measure earlier.

Lawmakers said use of the Internet by more than 10 million children has opened a new window through which pedophiles can terrorize children anonymously.

“Sex offenders who prey on children no longer need to hang out in parks or malls or schoolyards,” said Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) “Instead they can roam from Web site to chat room seeking victims with little risk of detection.”

Among its provisions, the bill would:

* Establish fines and impose a sentence of up to five years in prison for anyone using the mail, Internet or other means to contact a minor for sexual activity.

* Double from five to 10 years the sentence for luring a minor to cross state lines for illegal sexual activity, and increase from 10 to 15 years the maximum penalty for persuading a minor to engage in prostitution.

* Allow federal investigations of child kidnapping cases.

* Increase from 10 to 15 years the maximum penalty for transporting a minor across state lines for sexual activity.

* Prohibit unsupervised access to the Internet by federal prisoners and encourage state officials to take similar steps.