Revisions to Model Penal Code Present Child Safety Risks

Hosted by the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)

In June 2021, the American Law Institute (ALI) approved revisions to the Model Penal Code section on Sexual Assault and Related Offenses that if adopted by state legislatures will make it more difficult to prosecute those who buy and sell children for sex and will largely dismantle the sex offender registry currently in place. This Webinar will explain the text of the Model Penal Code relating to Section 213.9 on Sex Trafficking and Section 213.11 on Sentencing and Collateral Consequences and will lead a discussion and take questions on the impact of these proposed revisions to state statutory codes.

In Section 213.9 on Sex Trafficking, the revised Model Penal Code will complicate prosecutions by:

removing “advertising” and “obtaining” as predicate acts that can be used to establish trafficking;
requiring identification of a trafficker to establish child sex trafficking has occurred; and
excluding criminal liability for buyers of commercial sex with minors.

In Section 213.11 on Sentencing and Collateral Consequences, the revised Model Penal Code significantly departs from current safeguards provided by the sex offender registry, including:

removing these crimes from requiring registration: kidnapping/attempted kidnapping, online enticement, sex trafficking, child pornography crimes;
limiting access to registry information only to government law enforcement agencies (no public access);
removing key identifiers from registry requirements (e.g., date of birth, fingerprints/palm prints, DNA sample, driver’s license/passport information, Internet identifiers);
making first time offenses of sexual assault by physical force not registrable – offenders would be registrable only on second convictions;
limiting registration of sexual assault of a minor to crimes where the victim is less than 12 years old and the offender is 21 years old or older;
limiting registration of incestuous sexual assault of a minor to crimes where the victim is less than 16 years old; and
making failure to register a misdemeanor.

Speakers:

Yiota Souras, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, NCMEC

Frank Russo, Director of Government and Legislative Affairs, NDAA

Melissa Diaz, Division Chief — Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking
San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

Yiota Souras

Senior Vice President, General Counsel

NCMEC

Frank Russo

Director of Government and Legislative Affairs

National District Attorneys Association

Frank Russo is the Director of Government and Legislative Affairs at the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA). With more than 5,500 members nationwide NDAA is recognized as the leading source of national expertise on the prosecution function and is a valuable resource for the media, academia, government, and community leaders. Through continued advocacy, engagement with criminal justice stakeholders, and solicitation of ideas and input from its members, the association is able to provide the prosecutor perspective on issues including human trafficking, drug policy, forensic science, domestic violence, electronic evidence, asset forfeiture, child abuse, juvenile justice, and many more.

Prior to joining NDAA, Frank worked on Capitol Hill as a Law Clerk with both the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the Subcommittee for Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. He is a graduate of The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, in Washington, D.C. where he currently serves on the school’s Alumni Council, and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. He holds a license to practice law in the State of Georgia.