S 1333
Passed a chamber
Broadens federal kidnapping and child sexual abuse laws so they cover deception-based abductions, travel in interstate or foreign commerce, a new offense for touching a minor's genitals in federal custody, and equal penalties for attempts.
Official title: Strengthening Child Exploitation Enforcement Act
Timeline each lane is a chamber; dates pull from congress.gov actions
House
Received
10-OCT-2025
Senate
Introduced
08-APR-2025
Referred
08-APR-2025
Passed
29-SEP-2025
- Extends the federal kidnapping definition to abductions obtained by fraud or deception and bars a consent defense for victims under 16 unless the offender reasonably believed the victim was 16 or older.
- Replaces the requirement that an offender cross a State line with a requirement that the offender travel in interstate or foreign commerce in the sexual exploitation of minors provision.
- Creates a federal offense for knowingly causing a person under 16 to intentionally touch another person's genitals, not through clothing, in federal jurisdictions or federal custody facilities.
- Makes attempted abusive sexual contact carry the same penalty as the completed offense and updates cross-referenced penalties in civil rights and sentencing provisions.
Current. The Congressional Research Service's summary covers the bill's latest wording (Passed Senate, 29-SEP-2025).
CRS is the Library of Congress's nonpartisan research office. Read it on congress.gov- Judiciary Committee (Senate)
Crime and Law Enforcement
■ 2 D
2 Democrats