Executive Summary
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act became law in July of 2006. Representative Mark Foley, Chair of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, was a driving force behind the bill.
Highlights of the Act:
- Delineation and creation of new substantive crimes
- Expansion of federal jurisdiction over existing crimes
- Increases to statutory minimum and maximum sentences
The enactment of The Adam Walsh Act established more stringent federal penalties, including mandatory minimum sentences for more serious offenses and more severe penalties for the related crimes of exploitation and transportation (trafficking). The Act has also created a complicated and onerous national sex registry law that remains on the books.
The Walsh Act eliminated the statute of limitations for most sex crimes, put difficult and onerous limits on discovery for the defense in child pornography actions, and also set new barriers to pretrial release.
The Act further allows searches without probable cause as a discretionary condition of probation, greatly expanded the government's authority to extract DNA samples from those not convicted of a crime, and set forth new civil commitment requirements beyond the criminal sentence.
And for those who worki in the sex industry... there is now much to be aware of. Makers of adult material must maintain records of each performer's name and birth date. The location of such information must be clearly presented on every page of the relevant web site. The Act also makes refusal to permit the Attorney General to inspect such records at will a Federal crime. The penalties include one year in jail, but if children are involved, a more severe penalty of five years in prison applies.
Contact the Law Offices of Douglas Slain, or call 707-658-4437 to retain a criminal defense attorney.
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