I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4526

To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States to establish a Federal

civil right requiring that State laws, and the laws of the District of

Columbia, relating to physical assault, sexual assault, sexual abuse, and

sexual harassment be enforced without regard to the age of the victim.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 26, 1994

Mr. NADLER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States to

establish a Federal civil right requiring that State laws,

and the laws of the District of Columbia, relating to

physical assault, sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual

harassment be enforced without regard to the age of

the victim.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Children’s Equal Pro5 tection Act of 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Complaints of assault or abuse of children

4 raised during custody proceedings or under other

5 circumstances are often not pursued through crimi6 nal investigation and prosecution in the same man7 ner and with the same vigor that similar complaints

8 against adult victims are pursued.

9 (2) Complaints are often adjudicated in family

10 courts ill-equipped to, or jurisdictionally prohibited

11 from, investigating criminal matters.

12 (3) The failure by States, territories, and the

13 District of Columbia to bring their full criminal in14 vestigatory and prosecutorial skills to bear regarding

15 such complaints regarding alleged child victims

16 places these alleged child victims at risk of further

17 harm.

18 (4) Children are a discrete and insular minor19 ity, within the Supreme Court’s understanding of

20 the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of

21 the United States.

22 (5) Because of such status, children have been

23 deprived of equal and adequate enforcement of the

24 laws, and particularly those criminal laws prohibit25 ing assault, battery, and torture.
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1 (6) It would be a violation of the alleged child

2 victims’ right to equal protection of law if enforce3 ment actions are brought to bear regarding alleged

4 adult victims but not brought to bear regarding child

5 victims.

6 SEC. 3. RIGHT TO PROTECTION; DUTY TO INTERVENE.

7 The Revised Statutes of the United States are

8 amended by inserting after section 1979 the following:

9 SEC. 1979A. RIGHT TO PROTECTION; DUTY TO INTERVENE.

10 ‘‘(a) Where the statutes, ordinances, regulations, cus11 tom, or usage of any State or territory or the District of

12 Columbia provide for investigation and, where warranted,

13 criminal prosecution in response to complaints of physical

14 assault, sexual assault, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment

15 of citizens or other persons within the jurisdiction thereof,

16 these ordinances, regulations, customs, and usage shall be

17 applied without regard to the age of the victim.

18 ‘‘(b) Neither the investigation and determination of

19 facts for the purpose of awarding guardianship for or cus20 tody of a minor, nor the act of awarding such guardian21 ship or custody shall relieve any State or territory or the

22 District of Columbia of the duty to investigate and crimi23 nally prosecute valid complaints against child victims in

24 the same vigorous and timely manner as complaints

25 against adult victims.
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1 ‘‘(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to per2 mit the public disclosure of any victim’s identity. To the

3 contrary, to the maximum extent possible, the identity of

4 all child victims shall be protected in any investigation and

5 prosecution.

6 ‘‘(d) Every person who, under color of any statute,

7 ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or

8 territory or the District of Columbia, fails to provide the

9 affirmative protection or intervention required pursuant to

10 subsection (a) to a citizen of the United States or other

11 person within the jurisdiction thereof shall be liable to the

12 party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other

13 proper proceeding for redress. Such protection and inter14 vention as required by law shall not be limited to those

15 cases in which the injured party is in the physical or con16 structive custody of such person.

17 ‘‘(e) The failure of a State, county, locality, or the

18 District of Columbia to comply with this section shall act

19 as an absolute disability to receipt of Federal grants for

20 law-enforcement purposes as otherwise provided for in

21 such laws as Congress may from time to time enact.

22 ‘‘SEC. 1979B. RELIEF.

23 ‘‘An injured party under section 1979A may apply

24 to the court for such relief as the court may grant in its

25 discretion. Such relief may include injunctive relief, re-
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1 straining orders, and monetary damages. Such relief may

2 not include punitive damages. Granting of such relief as

3 the court may grant does not preclude criminal prosecu4 tion under the laws of a State or the United States. Judg5 ment entered on such action may be considered by the De6 partment of Justice in its determination of whether a

7 State, locality, or the District of Columbia has met the

8 requirements of section 1979A.

9 ‘‘SEC. 1979C. ABSTENTION; DENOVO REVIEW.

10 ‘‘The court may not abstain from hearing a case

11 under section 1979B until the completion of State court

12 proceedings or exhaustion of State remedies unless the de13 fendant demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that

14 delay of Federal proceedings will not endanger the injured

15 party or deprive such party of the protection which is the

16 subject of the proceeding. In making any determination

17 in a proceeding under this section, the court may, in its

18 discretion, review all factual issues de novo, and shall not

19 be limited by doctrines of res judicata or collateral estop20 pel, except that a final criminal conviction in a State or

21 Federal court after a fully-litigated trial shall estop any

22 review of the act or acts underlying such conviction.

23 ‘‘SEC. 1979D. WHO MAY BRING.

24 ‘‘An action under section 1979B may be brought by

25 the injured party, a guardian ad litem, a class of affected
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1 individuals, the Attorney General of the United States, or

2 the attorney general of a State, commonwealth, territory.

3 A refusal by such attorneys general to prosecute shall not

4 act as a bar to private action.

5 ‘‘SEC. 1979E. COSTS.

6 ‘‘In any action under section 1979B, the court, in its

7 discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than the

8 United States or a State, territory or jurisdiction, a rea9 sonable attorney’s fee.’’.

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