115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 534 

AN ACT 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe 

4 Sport Authorization Act of 2017’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—PROTECTING YOUNG VICTIMS FROM SEXUAL ABUSE 

Sec. 101. Required reporting of child and sexual abuse. 

Sec. 102. Civil remedy for personal injuries. 

TITLE II—UNITED STATES CENTER FOR SAFE SPORT 

AUTHORIZATION 

Sec. 201. Expansion of the purposes of the corporation. 

Sec. 202. Designation of the United States Center for Safe Sport. 

Sec. 203. Additional requirements for granting sanctions for amateur athletic 

competitions. 

Sec. 204. General requirements for youth-serving amateur sports organizations. 

7 TITLE I—PROTECTING YOUNG 

8 VICTIMS FROM SEXUAL ABUSE 

9 SEC. 101. REQUIRED REPORTING OF CHILD AND SEXUAL 

10 ABUSE. 

11 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Section 226 of the 

12 Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20341) 

13 is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘A person who’’ and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) COVERED PROFESSIONALS.—A person 

18 who’’; and 

19 (B) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(2) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—A covered indi2 vidual who learns of facts that give reason to suspect 

3 that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse, 

4 including sexual abuse, shall as soon as possible 

5 make a report of the suspected abuse to the agency 

6 designated by the Attorney General under subsection 

7 (d).’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 

9 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and in10 serting ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (c)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

13 the end; 

14 (B) in paragraph (8), by striking the pe15 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(9) the term ‘covered individual’ means an 

18 adult who is authorized, by a national governing 

19 body, a member of a national governing body, or an 

20 amateur sports organization that participates in 

21 interstate or international amateur athletic competi22 tion, to interact with a minor or amateur athlete at 

23 an amateur sports organization facility or at any 

24 event sanctioned by a national governing body, a 
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1 member of a national governing body, or such an 

2 amateur sports organization; 

3 ‘‘(10) the term ‘event’ includes travel, lodging, 

4 practice, competition, and health or medical treat5 ment; 

6 ‘‘(11) the terms ‘amateur athlete’, ‘amateur 

7 athletic competition’, ‘amateur sports organization’, 

8 ‘international amateur athletic competition’, and ‘na9 tional governing body’ have the meanings given the 

10 terms in section 220501(b) of title 36, United States 

11 Code; and 

12 ‘‘(12) the term ‘as soon as possible’ means 

13 within a 24-hour period.’’; 

14 (4) in subsection (d), in the first sentence, by 

15 inserting ‘‘and for all covered individuals’’ after ‘‘re16 side’’; 

17 (5) in subsection (f), in the first sentence— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘and on all’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘on all’’; and 

20 (B) by inserting ‘‘and for all covered indi21 viduals,’’ after ‘‘lands,’’; 

22 (6) in subsection (h), by inserting ‘‘and all cov23 ered individuals,’’ after ‘‘facilities,’’; and 

24 (7) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion shall be construed to require a victim of child abuse 

3 to self-report the abuse.’’. 

4 (b) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO REPORT.—Section 

5 2258 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by in6 serting ‘‘or a covered individual as described in subsection 

7 (a)(2) of such section 226 who,’’ after ‘‘facility,’’. 

8 SEC. 102. CIVIL REMEDY FOR PERSONAL INJURIES. 

9 Section 2255 of title 18, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any person who, while a minor, 

14 was a victim of a violation of section 1589, 1590, 1591, 

15 2241(c), 2242, 2243, 2251, 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2260, 

16 2421, 2422, or 2423 of this title and who suffers personal 

17 injury as a result of such violation, regardless of whether 

18 the injury occurred while such person was a minor, may 

19 sue in any appropriate United States District Court and 

20 shall recover the actual damages such person sustains or 

21 liquidated damages in the amount of $150,000, and the 

22 cost of the action, including reasonable attorney’s fees and 

23 other litigation costs reasonably incurred. The court may 

24 also award punitive damages and such other preliminary 
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1 and equitable relief as the court determines to be appro2 priate.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘filed within’’ 

4 and all that follows through the end and inserting 

5 the following: ‘‘filed— 

6 ‘‘(1) not later than 10 years after the date on 

7 which the plaintiff reasonably discovers the later 

8 of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the violation that forms the basis for 

10 the claim; or 

11 ‘‘(B) the injury that forms the basis for 

12 the claim; or 

13 ‘‘(2) not later than 10 years after the date on 

14 which the victim reaches 18 years of age.’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(c) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) VENUE.—Any action brought under sub18 section (a) may be brought in the district court of 

19 the United States that meets applicable require20 ments relating to venue under section 1391 of title 

21 28. 

22 ‘‘(2) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action 

23 brought under subsection (a), process may be served 

24 in any district in which the defendant— 

25 ‘‘(A) is an inhabitant; or 
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1 ‘‘(B) may be found.’’. 

2 TITLE II—UNITED STATES CEN3 TER FOR SAFE SPORT AU4 THORIZATION 

5 SEC. 201. EXPANSION OF THE PURPOSES OF THE CORPORA6 TION. 

7 Section 220503 of title 36, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

10 inserting a semicolon; 

11 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

12 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(15) to promote a safe environment in sports 

15 that is free from abuse, including emotional, phys16 ical, and sexual abuse, of any amateur athlete.’’. 

17 SEC. 202. DESIGNATION OF THE UNITED STATES CENTER 

18 FOR SAFE SPORT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2205 of title 36, United 

20 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘Subchapter III—United States Center for 

2 Safe Sport 

3 ‘‘§ 220541. Designation of United States Center for 

4 Safe Sport 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Center for 

6 Safe Sport shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) serve as the independent national safe 

8 sport organization and be recognized worldwide as 

9 the independent national safe sport organization for 

10 the United States; 

11 ‘‘(2) exercise jurisdiction over the corporation, 

12 each national governing body, and each paralympic 

13 sports organization with regard to safeguarding 

14 amateur athletes against abuse, including emotional, 

15 physical, and sexual abuse, in sports; 

16 ‘‘(3) maintain an office for education and out17 reach that shall develop training, oversight practices, 

18 policies, and procedures to prevent the abuse, includ19 ing emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, of ama20 teur athletes participating in amateur athletic activi21 ties through national governing bodies and 

22 paralympic sports organizations; 

23 ‘‘(4) maintain an office for response and resolu24 tion that shall establish mechanisms that allow for 

25 the reporting, investigation, and resolution, pursuant 
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1 to subsection (c), of alleged sexual abuse in violation 

2 of the Center’s policies and procedures; and 

3 ‘‘(5) ensure that the mechanisms under para4 graph (4) provide fair notice and an opportunity to 

5 be heard and protect the privacy and safety of com6 plainants. 

7 ‘‘(b) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The policies and 

8 procedures developed under subsection (a)(3) shall apply 

9 as though they were incorporated in and made a part of 

10 section 220524 of this title. 

11 ‘‘(c) BINDING ARBITRATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Center may, in its dis13 cretion, utilize a neutral arbitration body and de14 velop policies and procedures to resolve allegations of 

15 sexual abuse within its jurisdiction to determine the 

16 opportunity of any amateur athlete, coach, trainer, 

17 manager, administrator, or official, who is the sub18 ject of such an allegation, to participate in amateur 

19 athletic competition. 

20 ‘‘(2) PRESERVATION OF RIGHTS.—Nothing in 

21 this section shall be construed as altering, super22 seding, or otherwise affecting the right of an indi23 vidual within the Center’s jurisdiction to pursue civil 

24 remedies through the courts for personal injuries 

25 arising from abuse in violation of the Center’s poli-
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1 cies and procedures, nor shall the Center condition 

2 the participation of any such individual in a pro3 ceeding described in paragraph (1) upon an agree4 ment not to pursue such civil remedies. 

5 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), an applicable entity shall not be liable for 

8 damages in any civil action for defamation, libel, 

9 slander, or damage to reputation arising out of any 

10 action or communication, if the action arises from 

11 the execution of the responsibilities or functions de12 scribed in this section, section 220542, or section 

13 220543. 

14 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

15 apply in any action in which an applicable entity 

16 acted with actual malice, or provided information or 

17 took action not pursuant to this section, section 

18 220542, or section 220543. 

19 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE ENTITY.—In 

20 this subsection, the term ‘applicable entity’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Center; 

22 ‘‘(B) a national governing body; 

23 ‘‘(C) a paralympic sports organization; 
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1 ‘‘(D) an amateur sports organization or 

2 other person sanctioned by a national governing 

3 body under section 220525; 

4 ‘‘(E) an amateur sports organization re5 porting under section 220530; 

6 ‘‘(F) any officer, employee, agent, or mem7 ber of an entity described in subparagraph (A), 

8 (B), (C), (D), or (E); and 

9 ‘‘(G) any individual participating in a pro10 ceeding pursuant to this section. 

11 ‘‘§ 220542. Additional duties. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) develop training, oversight practices, poli14 cies, and procedures for implementation by a na15 tional governing body or paralympic sports organiza16 tion to prevent the abuse, including emotional, phys17 ical, and sexual abuse, of any amateur athlete; and 

18 ‘‘(2) include in the policies and procedures de19 veloped under section 220541(a)(3)— 

20 ‘‘(A) a requirement that all adult members 

21 of a national governing body, a paralympic 

22 sports organization, or a facility under the ju23 risdiction of a national governing body or 

24 paralympic sports organization, and all adults 

25 authorized by such members to interact with an 
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1 amateur athlete, report immediately any allega2 tion of child abuse of an amateur athlete who 

3 is a minor to— 

4 ‘‘(i) the Center, whenever such mem5 bers or adults learn of facts leading them 

6 to suspect reasonably that an amateur ath7 lete who is a minor has suffered an inci8 dent of child abuse; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) law enforcement consistent with 

10 section 226 of the Victims of Child Abuse 

11 Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20341); 

12 ‘‘(B) a mechanism, approved by a trained 

13 expert on child abuse, that allows a complainant 

14 to report easily an incident of child abuse to the 

15 Center, a national governing body, law enforce16 ment authorities, or other appropriate authori17 ties; 

18 ‘‘(C) reasonable procedures to limit one-on19 one interactions between an amateur athlete 

20 who is a minor and an adult (who is not the mi21 nor’s legal guardian) at a facility under the ju22 risdiction of a national governing body or 

23 paralympic sports organization without being in 

24 an observable and interruptible distance from 
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1 another adult, except under emergency cir2 cumstances; 

3 ‘‘(D) procedures to prohibit retaliation, by 

4 any national governing body or paralympic 

5 sports organization, against any individual who 

6 makes a report under subparagraph (A) or sub7 paragraph (B); 

8 ‘‘(E) oversight procedures, including reg9 ular and random audits conducted by subject 

10 matter experts unaffiliated with, and inde11 pendent of, a national governing body or a 

12 paralympic sports organization of each national 

13 governing body and paralympic sports organiza14 tion to ensure that policies and procedures de15 veloped under that section are followed correctly 

16 and that consistent training is offered and 

17 given to all adult members who are in regular 

18 contact with amateur athletes who are minors, 

19 and subject to parental consent, to members 

20 who are minors, regarding prevention of child 

21 abuse; and 

22 ‘‘(F) a mechanism by which a national 

23 governing body or paralympic sports organiza24 tion can— 
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1 ‘‘(i) share confidentially a report of 

2 suspected child abuse of an amateur ath3 lete who is a minor by a member of a na4 tional governing body or paralympic sports 

5 organization, or an adult authorized by a 

6 national governing body, paralympic sports 

7 organization, or an amateur sports organi8 zation to interact with an amateur athlete 

9 who is a minor, with the Center, which in 

10 turn, may share with relevant national gov11 erning bodies, paralympic sports organiza12 tions, and other entities; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) withhold providing to an adult 

14 who is the subject of an allegation of child 

15 abuse authority to interact with an ama16 teur athlete who is a minor until the reso17 lution of such allegation. 

18 ‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec19 tion shall be construed to limit the ability of a national 

20 governing body or paralympic sports organization to im21 pose an interim measure to prevent an individual who is 

22 the subject of an allegation of sexual abuse from inter23 acting with an amateur athlete prior to the Center exer24 cising its jurisdiction over a matter. 
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1 ‘‘§ 220543. Records, audits, and reports 

2 ‘‘(a) RECORDS.—The Center shall keep correct and 

3 complete records of account. 

4 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—The Center shall submit an annual 

5 report to Congress, including— 

6 ‘‘(1) an audit conducted and submitted in ac7 cordance with section 10101; and 

8 ‘‘(2) a description of the activities of the Cen9 ter. 

10 ‘‘§ 220544. Authorization of appropriations 

11 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the Center 

12 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 220501(b) 

14 of title 36, United States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

16 (8) as paragraphs (6) through (10), respectively; 

17 and 

18 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3), the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(4) ‘Center’ means the United States Center 

21 for Safe Sport designated under section 220541. 

22 ‘‘(5) ‘child abuse’ has the meaning given the 

23 term in section 212 of the Victims of Child Abuse 

24 Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20302).’’. 
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1 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 of chapter 2205 of title 36, United States Code, is amend3 ed by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III — UNITED STATES CENTER FOR SAFE SPORT

‘‘220541. Designation of United States Center for Safe Sport. 

‘‘220542. Additional duties. 

‘‘220543. Records, audits, and reports. 

‘‘220544. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

4 SEC. 203. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTING 

5 SANCTIONS FOR AMATEUR ATHLETIC COM6 PETITIONS. 

7 Section 220525(b)(4) is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

9 and inserting a semicolon; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period 

11 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(G) the amateur sports organization or 

14 person requesting sanction from a national gov15 erning body will implement and abide by the 

16 policies and procedures to prevent the abuse, 

17 including emotional, physical, and child abuse, 

18 of amateur athletes participating in amateur 

19 athletic activities applicable to such national 

20 governing body.’’. 
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1 SEC. 204. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR YOUTH-SERVING 

2 AMATEUR SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 2205 of 

4 title 36, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 220530. Other amateur sports organizations 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An applicable amateur sports or8 ganization shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) comply with the reporting requirements of 

10 section 226 of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 

11 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20341); 

12 ‘‘(2) establish reasonable procedures to limit 

13 one-on-one interactions between an amateur athlete 

14 who is a minor and an adult (who is not the minor’s 

15 legal guardian) at a facility under the jurisdiction of 

16 the applicable amateur sports organization without 

17 being in an observable and interruptible distance 

18 from another adult, except under emergency cir19 cumstances; 

20 ‘‘(3) offer and provide consistent training to all 

21 adult members who are in regular contact with ama22 teur athletes who are minors, and subject to paren23 tal consent, to members who are minors, regarding 

24 prevention and reporting of child abuse to allow a 

25 complainant to report easily an incident of child 

26 abuse to appropriate persons; and 
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1 ‘‘(4) prohibit retaliation, by the applicable ama2 teur sports organization, against any individual who 

3 makes a report under paragraph (1). 

4 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE AMATEUR SPORTS

5 ORGANIZATION.—In this section, the term ‘applicable 

6 amateur sports organization’ means an amateur sports or7 ganization— 

8 ‘‘(1) that is not otherwise subject to the re9 quirements under subchapter III; 

10 ‘‘(2) that participates in an interstate or inter11 national amateur athletic competition; and 

12 ‘‘(3) whose membership includes any adult who 

13 is in regular contact with an amateur athlete who is 

14 a minor.’’. 

15 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

16 of chapter 2205 of title 36, United States Code, is amend17 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 220529 

18 the following: 

‘‘220530. Other amateur sports organizations.’’. 

Passed the Senate November 14, 2017. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 534 

AN ACT 

To prevent the sexual abuse of minors and amateur 

other purposes. ual abuse to law enforcement authorities, and for athletes by requiring the prompt reporting of sex-