S. 1333 · Where this bill is now
In the House
Passed the Senate Sep 29, 2025. Received Oct 10, 2025; no House vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryStrengthens laws against child sexual abuse
This bill toughens federal criminal laws aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. It changes the kidnapping law to make clear that tricking or deceiving someone into giving up a child counts as kidnapping, and it removes the ability for someone to claim a child consented to abuse if the child is under 16 (unless the offender can prove they reasonably thought the child was older). The bill also expands laws against child sexual abuse to cover situations where someone crosses international borders to abuse a child, includes more types of harmful contact as crimes, and makes it illegal to attempt abusive sexual contact with the same serious penalties as completing it.
How it affects you
This bill directly affects children and their families by increasing legal protections against exploitation and abuse. Law enforcement and prosecutors gain clearer tools to charge and convict people who commit these crimes. If you're a parent or guardian, these changes are designed to make the justice system more effective at stopping child abuse and holding offenders accountable.
Read the official summary (Passed Senate, Sep 29, 2025)
Strengthening Child Exploitation Enforcement Act
This bill makes changes to federal criminal laws related to various offenses, particularly sexual abuse offenses against minors.
The bill revises the federal kidnapping statute by specifying that obtaining a victim by defrauding or deceiving a third party constitutes the offense of kidnapping. Additionally, for a kidnapping offense that involves a victim who has not attained the age of 16, the bill specifies that it is not a defense that the victim consented to the conduct of the offender, unless the offender establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the offender reasonably believed that the victim had attained the age of 16.
The bill also revises statutes related to sexual abuse offenses against minors to specify the following:
• that crossing international lines with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a child who has not attained the age of 12 constitutes aggravated sexual abuse (currently, the statute only references crossing state lines),
• that the offense of sexual abuse of a minor also includes knowingly causing the intentional touching of any person by a person who has not attained the age of 16, and
• that attempting to commit abusive sexual contact is also a crime that is subject to the same penalty as the completed offense.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 1333
AN ACT
Strengthening Child Exploitation Enforcement Act
Sponsor: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) · Introduced Apr 8, 2025 · Crime and Law Enforcement · 2 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Oct 10, 2025: “Held at the desk.”
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 2 official versions.