Title 28—Judicial Administration--Volume 1
PART 81—CHILD ABUSE AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY REPORTING DESIGNATIONS AND PROCEDURES, AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY VICTIMS RESERVE
§ 81.1   Purpose.
The regulations in this subpart designate the agencies that are authorized to receive and investigate reports of child abuse under the provisions of section 226 of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990, Public Law 101-647, 104 Stat. 4806, codified at 42 U.S.C. 13031.
§ 81.2   Submission of reports; designation of agencies to receive reports of child abuse.
Reports of child abuse required by 42 U.S.C. 13031 shall be made to the local law enforcement agency or local child protective services agency that has jurisdiction to investigate reports of child abuse or to protect child abuse victims in the land area or facility in question. Such agencies are hereby respectively designated as the agencies to receive and investigate such reports, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 13031(d), with respect to federal lands and federally operated or contracted facilities within their respective jurisdictions, provided that such agencies, if non-federal, enter into formal written agreements to do so with the Attorney General, her delegate, or a federal agency with jurisdiction for the area or facility in question. If the child abuse reported by the covered professional pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 13031 occurred outside the federal area or facility in question, the designated local law enforcement agency or local child protective services agency receiving the report shall immediately forward the matter to the appropriate authority with jurisdiction outside the federal area in question.
§ 81.3   Designation of Federal Bureau of Investigation.
For federal lands, federally operated facilities, or federally contracted facilities where no agency qualifies for designation under § 81.2, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is hereby designated as the agency to receive and investigate reports of child abuse made pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 13031 until such time as another agency qualifies as a designated agency under § 81.2.
§ 81.4   Referral of reports where the designated agency is not a law enforcement agency.
Where a report of child abuse received by a designated agency that is not a law enforcement agency involves allegations of sexual abuse, serious physical injury, or life-threatening neglect of a child, that agency shall immediately report such occurrence to a law enforcement agency with authority to take emergency action to protect the child.
§ 81.5   Definitions.
Local child protective services agency means that agency of the federal government, of a state, of a tribe or of a local government that has the primary responsibility for child protection within a particular portion of the federal lands, a particular federally operated facility, or a particular federally contracted facility in which children are cared for or reside.
Local law enforcement agency means that federal, state, tribal or local law enforcement agency that has the primary responsibility for the investigation of an instance of alleged child abuse occurring within a particular portion of the federal lands, a particular federally operated facility, or a particular federally contracted facility in which children are cared for or reside.
§ 81.11   Purpose.
The regulations in this subpart B designate the agencies that are authorized to receive and investigate reports of child pornography that are forwarded from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children under the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 13032.
§ 81.12   Submission of reports to the “Cyber Tipline” at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
(a) When a provider of electronic communications services or remote computing services to the public (“provider”) obtains knowledge of facts or circumstances concerning an apparent violation of Federal child pornography statutes designated by 42 U.S.C. 13032(b)(1), it shall, as soon as reasonably possible, report all such facts or circumstances to the “Cyber Tipline” at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Web site ( http://www.CyberTipline.com ), which contains a reporting form for use by providers.
(b) A provider should initially call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to receive an identification number and a password that will enable it to log on to the section of the “Cyber Tipline” that is designed for provider reporting.
§ 81.13   Submission of reports by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to designated agencies; designation of agencies.
When the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children receives a report from a provider concerning an apparent violation of Federal child pornography statutes specified in 42 U.S.C. 13032(b)(1), it shall immediately forward that report, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Secret Service, designated pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 13032(b)(2).
§§ 81.14-81.50   [Reserved]
§ 81.51   Child Pornography Victims Reserve.
The Child Pornography Victims Reserve (“Reserve”) was established on December 7, 2018, to provide a source of defined monetary assistance for eligible victims of trafficking in child pornography, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 2259(d). Pursuant to the authority of the Department of Justice (“the Department”) to administer the Reserve, the Department will—
(a) Accept a request that the Department seek a court order for a determination of eligibility for defined monetary assistance from a claimant who chooses to proceed through the Department;
(b) Process such request and use reasonable efforts to follow up with such claimant to obtain information sufficient for a court to determine the claimant's eligibility for defined monetary assistance;
(c) Upon confirming that the request to the Department is complete and not duplicative of a previously received request, use reasonable efforts to identify a Federal child pornography trafficking case in which an image of the identified victim appears and in which the Department may present an application for court determination of the claimant's eligibility; and
(d) Pay a claimant (or an authorized representative, if applicable) pursuant to a Federal court order determining that such claimant is eligible to receive defined monetary assistance.
§ 81.52   Definitions.
(a) If a term is not defined in this section, the statutory definition at 18 U.S.C. 2256, 2259, 2259A, or 2259B applies to the submission and processing of requests to the Department.
(b) Authorized representative means an attorney or legal guardian (for claimants under age 18, incompetent, or incapacitated) of a claimant, the personal representative of a deceased claimant's estate, any other person appointed as a representative of a claimant by a Federal court pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 2259(c)(4), or a personal representative designated by the claimant to act on the claimant's behalf.
(c) Claimant means the person who claims to be a victim of trafficking in child pornography and to be eligible for the defined monetary assistance at 18 U.S.C. 2259(d).
(d) Reserve means the Child Pornography Victims Reserve set forth in 34 U.S.C. 20101(d)(6). The Department may also refer to the Reserve as the Defined Monetary Assistance Victims Reserve.
(e) Victim or victim of trafficking in child pornography means a person whom a Federal court has determined, under 18 U.S.C. 2259(d)(1)(B), to be a victim of trafficking in child pornography.
§ 81.53   Eligibility.
(a) Presentment of claims for payment to Federal courts. If a claimant chooses to submit a request to the Department, the Department shall review a properly submitted request and, as necessary, ask the claimant (or the claimant's authorized representative, if applicable) for additional information to support the request. Once the Department confirms the request is complete and not duplicative of a previously received request, the Department will use reasonable efforts to find an appropriate case in which to present the claim by means of an application for an order of payment of defined monetary assistance in a Federal court. An appropriate case may be an open or closed case. If the Department is unable to locate an appropriate case, it will notify the claimant and may decline to present the claim. If the Department presents the claimant's application to a court, the Department may include a recommendation as to whether the court should grant or deny the application.
(b) Determination by a court. A Federal court will make the determination, under 18 U.S.C. 2259(d)(1)(B), as to whether a claimant is entitled to defined monetary assistance from the Reserve and, if so, shall order payment in the amount specified in 18 U.S.C. 2259(d)(1)(D). This amount is $35,000 as adjusted for inflation from December 7, 2018, based on the date of the court's order, in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 2259(d)(1)(D).
(c) Payment. The Department shall pay to the victim (or the victim's authorized representative, if applicable) from the Reserve the defined monetary assistance set forth in 18 U.S.C. 2259, in accordance with the applicable Federal court order and consistent with 18 U.S.C. 2259B(b).
(d) Exclusions. (1) A victim may obtain defined monetary assistance under 18 U.S.C. 2259(d) only once. See 18 U.S.C. 2259(d)(2)(A).
(2) In no event shall an individual who is convicted of an act described in 18 U.S.C. chapter 110, with respect to the victim, receive any defined monetary assistance from the Reserve on behalf of the victim. See 18 U.S.C. 2259(c)(4).
(3) Claimants who have collected restitution payments in excess of $35,000 (as adjusted for inflation from December 7, 2018) pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 2259 are not eligible to receive defined monetary assistance under this program. See 18 U.S.C. 2259(d)(3).
(e) Effect on restitution. If a victim has received defined monetary assistance and, after receiving that defined monetary assistance, seeks restitution, the amount the victim received in defined monetary assistance must be deducted when determining the full amount of the victim's losses for purposes of restitution. See 18 U.S.C. 2259(d)(2)(C).
§ 81.54   Submission of requests to the Department.
(a) Requests submitted to the Department must be submitted in the form and manner, and supported by documentation, specified from time to time by the Department. The Department's website will contain directions on how to access the claims system for defined monetary assistance.
(b) Requests may be submitted to the Department at any time. The Department may decline to present to a court any application based on a request that duplicates a previously received request. A request duplicates a previously received request if it is submitted by or in connection with the same claimant and is premised on the same conduct as the previously received request. If a claimant obtains new information relevant to a claim after submitting a request, the claimant should amend that request rather than submitting a new request. If the Department has already returned the request to the claimant, the claimant may submit a new request, so long as such request contains material, additional information supporting the claimant's eligibility for defined monetary assistance.
(c) If a claimant is represented by an authorized representative, the request to the Department and any supporting information may be submitted to the Department by that authorized representative. The authorized representative must submit a separate request on behalf of each represented claimant.
§ 81.55   Supporting information.
(a) As part of a request to the Department, the claimant should submit information as instructed by the Department. The Department's website will provide instruction about what information is required in support of a claim. Failure to submit all required information may result in delay or a decision by the Department not to present the claimant's application to a court.
(b) All information supporting the request should be updated as necessary while the request to the Department is pending, including the amounts of any restitution collected, address changes, changes to information needed to process payment to the claimant, and any other pertinent information that may be relevant to the request.
(c) To avoid a potential violation of Federal law, claimants (or authorized representatives, if applicable) shall not send images or videos of child pornography when providing supporting information.
§ 81.56   Procedures for determining the personal representative of an estate.
(a) In general. For any request to the Department by the estate of a deceased claimant, the personal representative of the estate, who will be the authorized representative for purposes of defined monetary assistance from the Reserve, shall be determined as follows:
(1) First preference will be given to an individual appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction as the personal representative of the deceased claimant or as the executor or administrator of the deceased claimant's will or estate.
(2) In the event that no personal representative or executor or administrator has been appointed by any court of competent jurisdiction, and such issue is not the subject of pending litigation or other dispute, the next preferred personal representative for purposes of defined monetary assistance from the Reserve will be the person named by the deceased claimant in the deceased claimant's will as the executor or administrator of the deceased claimant's estate.
(3) In the event that no will exists, the next preference for personal representative for purposes of defined monetary assistance from the Reserve will be the first person in the line of succession for inheritance established by the laws of the deceased claimant's domicile governing intestacy. In the case where State law provides for two or more persons to inherit in equal shares ( e.g., parents or siblings), the defined monetary assistance payment will be split accordingly.
(4) In the event that none of the individuals described in paragraphs (a)(1) through (3) of this section are available to serve as personal representative, any other person may seek to be appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction as the personal representative for purposes of defined monetary assistance from the Reserve. Upon appointment, that person will serve as personal representative.
(b) Notice to beneficiaries. (1) Any purported personal representative must, before submitting a request to the Department, provide written notice of the intent to submit a request and the procedures in paragraph (c) of this section to object to such status as personal representative to the immediate family of the deceased claimant; to the executor, administrator, and beneficiaries of the deceased claimant's will; and to any other persons who may reasonably be expected to assert an interest in an award or to have a cause of action to recover damages relating to the wrongful death of the deceased claimant.
(2) Personal delivery or transmission by certified mail, return receipt requested, shall be deemed sufficient notice under this subpart. The purported personal representative must certify that such notice (or other notice that the Department deems appropriate) has been given.
(c) Objections to personal representatives. Objections to the authority of an individual to file as the personal representative of a deceased claimant may be submitted to the Department, as instructed on the Department's website for this program, by parties who assert a financial interest in the award. Any such objection must be submitted within 30 days following receipt of notice by the personal representative as defined under this section. If timely submitted, such objections shall be treated as evidence of a “dispute” under paragraph (d) of this section.
(d) Disputes as to the identity of the personal representative. The Department will not, and shall not be required to, arbitrate, litigate, or otherwise resolve any dispute as to the identity of the personal representative. In the event of a dispute over the appropriate personal representative, the Department may suspend or return a request to the claimant without prejudice to its later resubmission and may withhold any payment until the dispute is resolved either by agreement of the disputing parties or by a court of competent jurisdiction. Alternatively, the disputing parties may agree in writing to the identity of a personal representative to act on their behalf, who may seek and accept defined monetary assistance from the Reserve while the disputing parties work to settle their dispute.
§ 81.57   Request and order processing.
(a) Upon receipt of a request to the Department, the Department will review it and may follow up with the claimant (or authorized representative, if applicable) to resolve any gaps in the request's supporting information.
(b) The Department will then use reasonable efforts to identify an open or closed Federal criminal case involving the claimant to present the claimant's application (with supporting information, as appropriate) for a court to determine the claimant's eligibility to receive defined monetary assistance. If the Department is unable to locate such a case, it will notify the claimant (or the claimant's authorized representative, if applicable). If the Department presents the claimant's application to a court, in its sole discretion, the Department may or may not present the claim with an accompanying recommendation that the court order payment or not. If the Department determines that it will recommend against the court ordering payment, the Department will make reasonable efforts to inform the claimant (or the claimant's authorized representative, if applicable) of such recommendation prior to any presentation of the application to the court.
(c) If a court issues an order requiring payment to any claimant, the Department will process payment of defined monetary assistance to the claimant or, where appropriate, to the claimant's authorized representative, in accordance with the order in the amount specified therein, upon receipt of the order and the requisite information from the claimant following instructions on the Department's website for this program. Failure to submit all required information to the Department may result in delay of payment.
(d) If the court issues an order denying eligibility based on an application submitted by the Department, the Department will notify the claimant (or the claimant's authorized representative, if applicable). The Department may decide to seek appellate review of a ruling by a district court regarding a claimant's eligibility for defined monetary assistance. The Department will make reasonable efforts to consult with the claimant (or the claimant's authorized representative, if applicable) on the issue of appellate review.
§ 81.58   Signatures and certifications.
A request to the Department will be deemed submitted when it is submitted online at the Department's website for this program; or, as provided in accordance with § 81.54, consistent with the instructions on the claim form. By submitting the request, the claimant (or, if submitted by an authorized representative, the authorized representative) acknowledges and certifies as to each of the following:
(a) Veracity of request. The claimant certifies, under oath, subject to penalty of perjury or in a manner that meets the requirements of 28 U.S.C. 1746, that the information provided in the request and any documents submitted in support of the request are true and accurate to the best of the claimant's knowledge, and the claimant agrees that any defined monetary assistance paid from the Reserve is expressly conditioned upon the truthfulness and accuracy of the information and documentation submitted in support of the request. Where a claimant is represented by an authorized representative, that representative must have authority to certify the request on behalf of the claimant.
(b) Potential criminal penalties. The claimant understands that false statements or claims made in connection with the request may result in fines, imprisonment, and any other remedy available by law to the Federal Government, including fines and imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C. 1001 and treble damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729, et seq. Requests that appear to be potentially fraudulent or to contain false information may be forwarded to Federal, State, and local law enforcement authorities for possible investigation and prosecution.
(c) Limitation on attorney fees. If a claimant is represented by counsel, no attorney shall charge, receive, or collect any payment of fees and costs that in the aggregate exceeds 15 percent of any defined monetary assistance paid on such application. An attorney who violates this provision is subject to fine, imprisonment of up to one year, or both.
§ 81.59   Privacy.
The Department will not disclose to the public the names of the claimants (or their authorized representatives, if applicable) who have requested defined monetary assistance from the Reserve under this program, or their other personally identifiable information, except as necessary to process a request or application or pursuant to law or court order.