[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 534 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 534
To prevent the sexual abuse of minors and amateur athletes by requiring
the prompt reporting of sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 6, 2017
Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Nelson, Mr.
Flake, Mr. Donnelly, Mr. Rubio, Mrs. McCaskill, Mrs. Ernst, Ms.
Klobuchar, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Warren, Ms. Harris, Ms.
Cortez Masto, and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent the sexual abuse of minors and amateur athletes by requiring
the prompt reporting of sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Young Victims from Sexual
Abuse Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. REQUIRED REPORTING OF CHILD AND SEXUAL ABUSE AT FACILITIES
UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF AMATEUR SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS
RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COMMITTEE.
(a) Reporting Requirement.--Section 226 of the Victims of Child
Abuse Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13031) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``A person who'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) Covered professionals.--A person who''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Individuals at covered facilities.--A covered
individual who, while engaged in any activity sanctioned by a
covered facility, learns of facts that give reason to suspect
that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse, including
sexual abuse, shall as soon as possible make a report of the
suspected abuse to the agency designated by the Attorney
General under subsection (d).'';
(2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ``subsection (a)'' and inserting ``subsection
(a)(1)'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(9) the term `covered facility' means a facility over
which a national governing body has jurisdiction;
``(10) the term `covered individual' means an adult who is
authorized by a covered facility or by a national governing
body to interact with a minor or amateur athlete at the covered
facility or at any event sanctioned by the covered facility;
and
``(11) the term `national governing body' has the meaning
given the term in section 220501(b) of title 36, United States
Code.'';
(4) in subsection (d), in the first sentence, by inserting
``and for all covered facilities'' after ``reside'';
(5) in subsection (f), in the first sentence--
(A) by striking ``and on all'' and inserting ``on
all''; and
(B) by inserting ``and for all covered
facilities,'' after ``lands,''; and
(6) in subsection (h), by inserting ``and all covered
individuals,'' after ``facilities,''.
(b) Penalty for Failure To Report.--Section 2258 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting ``or while engaged in a professional
capacity or activity at a covered facility as described in
subsection (a)(2) of such section 226'' after ``facility''; and
(2) by striking ``not more than 1 year'' and inserting
``not more than 3 years''.
SEC. 3. CIVIL REMEDY FOR PERSONAL INJURIES.
Section 2255 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``(a) In General.--Any person who, while a minor, was a victim of a
violation of section 1589, 1590, 1591, 2241(c), 2242, 2243, 2251,
2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2260, 2421, 2422, or 2423 of this title and who
suffers personal injury as a result of such violation, regardless of
whether the injury occurred while such person was a minor, may sue in
any appropriate United States District Court and shall recover the
actual damages such person sustains or liquidated damages in the amount
of $150,000, and the cost of the action, including reasonable
attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. The
court may also award punitive damages and such other preliminary and
equitable relief as the court determines to be appropriate.'';
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ``filed within'' and all
that follows through the end and inserting the following:
``filed--
``(1) not later than 10 years after the date on which the
plaintiff discovers the later of--
``(A) the violation that forms the basis for the
claim; or
``(B) the injury that forms the basis for the
claim; or
``(2) in the case of a person under a legal disability, not
later than 10 years after the date on which the disability
ends.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Venue; Service of Process.--
``(1) Venue.--Any action brought under subsection (a) may
be brought in the district court of the United States that
meets applicable requirements relating to venue under section
1391 of title 28.
``(2) Service of process.--In an action brought under
subsection (a), process may be served in any district in which
the defendant--
``(A) is an inhabitant; or
``(B) may be found.''.
SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF AMATEUR SPORTS
ORGANIZATIONS RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES OLYMPIC
COMMITTEE TO PREVENT THE ABUSE OF MINOR AND AMATEUR
ATHLETES.
(a) Expansion of Authorities.--Section 220523(a) of title 36,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and inserting
``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) develop training, oversight practices, policies, and
procedures to prevent the abuse, including physical abuse and
sexual abuse, of any minor or amateur athlete by any adult.''.
(b) Additional Duties.--Section 220524 of such title is amended--
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and inserting
a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(10) develop and enforce policies, mechanisms, and
procedures to prevent the abuse, including physical abuse and
sexual abuse, of any minor or amateur athlete, including--
``(A) requiring all members of the national
governing body or a facility under the jurisdiction of
the national governing body and adults authorized by
such members to interact with minor or amateur
athletes, to immediately report all allegations of
sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities and other
appropriate authorities whenever such members or adults
learn of facts leading them to reasonably suspect that
a minor or amateur athlete has suffered an incident of
sexual abuse;
``(B) establishing a mechanism, approved by a
trained expert on child abuse, that allows a
complainant to easily report an incident of sexual
abuse committed by a member or adult described in
subparagraph (A) to interact with a minor or amateur
athlete, to the national governing body or another
authority;
``(C) procedures to ensure that each amateur
athlete who is a minor is prevented from being in a
one-on-one situation with an adult (who is not the
minor's legal guardian) at a facility under the
jurisdiction of the national governing body without
being in an observable and interruptible distance from
another adult; and
``(D) oversight procedures, including regular and
random audits conducted by subject matter experts
unaffiliated with the national governing body, of all
members and adults described in subparagraph (A) to
ensure that policies and procedures developed under
this paragraph are followed correctly and that
consistent training is offered and given to all members
regarding prevention of sexual abuse; and
``(11) in the case of a national governing body with
jurisdiction over more than one athletic facility, establish a
mechanism by which--
``(A) the national governing body can--
``(i) receive a report from one of such
facilities regarding a case in which an adult
authorized by the facility to interact with a
minor or amateur athlete at such facility is
expelled from or leaves such facility for
sexual misconduct, including because of a mere
allegation of sexual misconduct; and
``(ii) share a report received under
subparagraph (A) with each of the other
athletic facilities under the jurisdiction of
the national governing body; and
``(B) an athletic facility under the jurisdiction
of the national governing body can--
``(i) review the reports received by the
national governing body under subparagraph
(A)(i) to assess any allegations of sexual
misconduct made in such reports; and
``(ii) withhold providing to an adult who
is the subject of an allegation of sexual
misconduct in a report reviewed under clause
(i) authority to interact with a minor or
amateur athlete at such facility until such
time as the facility determines that there is
no risk to a minor or amateur athlete at such
facility.''.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Section 220522 of such title is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in paragraph (a) shall be
construed to limit the ability of a national governing body to develop
a policy or procedure to prevent an individual who is the subject of an
allegation of sexual misconduct from interacting with a minor or
amateur athlete until such time as the national governing body, or any
person under the jurisdiction of the national governing body,
determines that there is no risk to the minor or amateur athlete by
allowing the individual to interact with the minor or amateur
athlete.''.
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