News Release - McCollum, Legislators: Victims of Child Pornography Deserve Voice in Court, Civil Damages

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Attorney General Bill McCollum News Release

February 19, 2008

Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150

McCollum, Legislators: Victims of Child Pornography Deserve Voice in Court, Civil Damages

~ New legislation would provide victims the opportunity to be heard in court and seek civil damages against those who download and distribute their images ~

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum and key legislators today unveiled new legislation which, if passed, will provide victims of child pornography with a voice in court proceedings against individuals who download and distribute images of the child’s sexual abuse. Similar to an established Federal law, the Exploited Children’s Rights Act will also entitle victims of Florida-based child pornography to seek no less than $150,000 per incident from perpetrators. The legislation has been filed in the Senate by Senator Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland) as Senate Bill 1442 and in the House of Representatives by Representative David Rivera (R-Miami) as House Bill 605.

“Every time an image of child pornography is downloaded, viewed or distributed, a child’s sexual abuse is continued on the internet for these individuals’ ghastly appreciation,” said Attorney General Bill McCollum. “Until now, these children have not been treated as victims of crime in state courts and Florida would be the first state in the nation to correct this glaring oversight.”

The Exploited Children’s Rights Act will make Florida the first state to allow victims of Florida-based child pornography to seek civil remedies against those who download images of that child’s sexual abuse. The legislation will also allow the Attorney General’s Office to pursue these cases on behalf of the victims at their request. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there are more than 30 children who have been identified as victims of Florida-based child pornography.

“Child pornography is the graphic representation of sex crimes against children, and we must take the strongest stand possible against those who perpetrate this disgusting activity,” said Senator Dockery. “These individuals need to feel the full strength of our state's outrage.”

“Florida has already made its mark as a leader against cybercriminals and those who download and distribute child pornography,” said Representative Rivera. “With this bill, we are again taking the lead and standing up for these children who so desperately need us on their side.”

Also present at the press conference were Maureen Horkan, the Director of the CyberCrime Unit, Pamela Bennett, the Unit’s lead Victim Advocate, and Mike Duffey, Special Agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Bennett read a statement from Masha Allen, a 13-year old Russian girl who was adopted at the age of five and sexually abused and tortured by the man who adopted her. Masha will benefit from the proposed legislation because a portion of her abuse occurred in Florida. Duffey read a statement from the father of a young Florida victim who, under the proposed bill, would be able to speak out in court against those who continue the proliferation of her images on the internet.

While there is no current law in state court which provides victims with civil remedies, a similar Federal provision, known as “Masha’s Law,” passed as part of the Adam Walsh Act provides this remedy in Federal court. Like many other victims of child pornography, the images of Masha’s abuse were distributed worldwide on the internet. In Congressional testimony supporting the legislation, Masha noted that the law at the time awarded greater monetary damages for downloading music and violating copyrights than those awarded to the children exploited for a lifetime through the downloading and distribution of the images of their own sexual abuse.

Currently, because child pornography is treated as a “victimless crime,” victims do not receive information about their rights as crime victims which include support and financial assistance. Additionally, these victims are not notified about legal cases involving their images nor provided the opportunity to be heard at a perpetrator’s sentencing. The new law will address this by creating an electronic notification system which will allow victims to maintain their privacy while still being heard and considered in criminal court cases. This system would be a model for the rest of the nation.

A summary of the bill is available online at: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-7BYKJ7/$file/ExploitedChildren'sRightsAct.pdf