The PROTECT Act of 2003 authorized fines and/or imprisonment for up to 30 years for U.S. citizens or residents who engage in illicit sexual conduct abroad.
For the purposes of this law, illicit sexual conduct includes commercial sex with anyone under 18, and all sex with anyone under 16. Previous US law was less strict, only punishing those having sex either in contravention of local laws OR in commerce (prostitution); but did not prohibit non-commercial sex with, for example, a 14 year-old if such sex was legal in the foreign territory.
"PROTECT" stands for Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today.
The PROTECT Act mandated that the Attorney General promulgate new regulations to enforce the 2257 Recordkeeping regulation - Colloquially known as the '2257 Regulations'. Recently the Free Speech Coalition filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice claiming the 2257 Regulations are unconstitutional. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. ...
The act was signed into law by PresidentGeorge W. Bush on April 30, 2003. For the pop band, see Presidents of the United States of America. ... Order: 43rd President of United States Vice President: Dick Cheney Term of office: January 20, 2001 – Present (His second term will end on January 20, 2009. ... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining, as the last day in April. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The PROTECTAct of 2003 is a multipurpose United States law intended to prevent child abuse.
The PROTECTAct mandated that the United States Attorney General promulgate new regulations to enforce the 2257 recordkeeping regulation, colloquially known as the '2257 Regulations'.
However, the provisions of the ProtectAct are distinct, since they establish the requirement of showing obscenity as defined by the Miller Test, which was not an element of the 1996 law.
Again: Under the ProtectAct, the intent of the person at the time he or she traveled is not a legitimate defense of acts later committed abroad.
Under Dominican law, adult men who engage in sexual acts with underage girls may be charged with one of two crimes: “seduction” if the girl is 16 or 17, or “statutory rape” if the girl is under 16.
The protection of children, who are generally not in a position to protect themselves, is – and rightly should be – a common goal of both our governments.
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