IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1973 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 5, 2017 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Young Vic3 tims from Sexual Abuse Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REQUIRED REPORTING OF CHILD AND SEXUAL 

5 ABUSE AT FACILITIES UNDER THE JURISDIC6 TION OF AMATEUR SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS 

7 RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES OLYM8 PIC COMMITTEE. 

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

10 Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13031) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘A person who’’ and insert14 ing the following: 

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

16 who’’; and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—A covered indi19 vidual who learns of facts that give reason to suspect 

20 that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse 

21 shall as soon as possible make a report of the sus22 pected abuse to the agency designated by the Attor23 ney General under subsection (d).’’; 

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

25 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and in26 serting ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (c)— 

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

3 the end; 

4 (B) in paragraph (8), by striking the pe5 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

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

8 adult who is authorized by a national governing body 

9 or a member of a national governing body to inter10 act with a minor or amateur athlete at an amateur 

11 sports organization facility or at any event sanc12 tioned by a national governing body or a member of 

13 a national governing body; 

14 ‘‘(10) the term ‘event’ includes travel, practice, 

15 competition, and health or medical treatment; and 

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

17 sports organization’, and ‘national governing body’ 

18 have the meanings given such terms in section 

19 220501(b) of title 36, United States Code.’’; 

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

21 inserting ‘‘and for all covered facilities’’ after ‘‘re22 side’’; 

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

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

25 ‘‘on all’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘and for all covered facili2 ties,’’ after ‘‘lands,’’; 

3 (6) in subsection (h), by inserting ‘‘and all cov4 ered individuals,’’ after ‘‘facilities,’’; and 

5 (7) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec7 tion shall be construed to require a victim of child abuse 

8 to self-report the abuse.’’. 

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

10 2258 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by in11 serting after ‘‘facility,’’ the following: ‘‘or a covered indi12 vidual (as described in subsection (a)(2) of such section 

13 226) who’’. 

14 SEC. 3. CIVIL REMEDY FOR PERSONAL INJURIES. 

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

16 amended— 

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

18 following: 

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

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

21 2241(c), 2242, 2243, 2251, 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2260, 

22 2421, 2422, or 2423 of this title and who suffers personal 

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

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

25 sue in any appropriate United States District Court and 


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1 shall recover the actual damages such person sustains or 

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

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

4 other litigation costs reasonably incurred. The court may 

5 also award punitive damages and such other preliminary 

6 and equitable relief as the court determines to be appro7 priate.’’; 

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

9 and all that follows through the end and inserting 

10 the following: ‘‘filed— 

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

12 which the plaintiff reasonably discovers the later 

13 of— 

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

15 the claim; or 

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

17 the claim; or 

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

19 which a legal disability ends.’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(c) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) VENUE.—Any action brought under sub23 section (a) may be brought in the district court of 

24 the United States that meets applicable requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Jun 06, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1973.RFS H1973

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1 ments relating to venue under section 1391 of title 

2 28. 

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

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

5 in any district in which the defendant— 

6 ‘‘(A) is an inhabitant; or 

7 ‘‘(B) may be found.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF AMA9 TEUR SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS RECOGNIZED 

10 BY THE UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COM11 MITTEE TO PREVENT THE ABUSE OF MINOR 

12 AND AMATEUR ATHLETES. 

13 (a) EXPANSION OF AUTHORITIES.—Section 

14 220523(a) of title 36, United States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

16 inserting a semicolon; 

17 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and 

18 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(8) develop training, oversight practices, poli21 cies, and procedures to prevent the abuse, including 

22 physical abuse and sexual abuse, of any minor or 

23 amateur athlete by any adult.’’. 

24 (b) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—Section 220524 of such 

25 title is amended— 


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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

2 ‘‘For the sport’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

4 inserting a semicolon; 

5 (3) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 

6 inserting a semicolon; and 

7 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(10) develop and enforce policies, mechanisms, 

9 and procedures to prevent the abuse, including phys10 ical abuse and sexual abuse, of any minor or ama11 teur athlete, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) requiring all adults authorized by a 

13 national governing body or a member of a na14 tional governing body to interact with a minor 

15 or amateur athlete at an amateur sports organi16 zation facility or at any event sanctioned by a 

17 national governing body or a member of a na18 tional governing body, to report facts that give 

19 reason to suspect child abuse, including sexual 

20 abuse, as required by relevant Federal or State 

21 law, to law enforcement authorities and other 

22 appropriate authorities, including an entity des23 ignated by the corporation to investigate and 

24 resolve such allegations; 


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1 ‘‘(B) establishing a mechanism, approved 

2 by a trained expert on child abuse, that allows 

3 an individual to easily report an incident of 

4 child abuse as described in subparagraph (A) to 

5 the national governing body or another author6 ity, including an entity designated by the cor7 poration; 

8 ‘‘(C) reasonable procedures designed to 

9 avoid one-on-one interactions between an ama10 teur athlete who is a minor and an adult (who 

11 is not the minor’s legal guardian) at an ama12 teur sports organization facility, at any event 

13 sanctioned by a national governing body, or any 

14 event sanctioned by a member of a national 

15 governing body, without being observable or in16 terruptible by another adult, except where the 

17 safety and welfare of the minor requires; 

18 ‘‘(D) oversight procedures, including reg19 ular and random audits, not to exceed once a 

20 year, conducted by subject matter experts unaf21 filiated with the national governing body, of all 

22 members and adults described in subparagraph 

23 (A) to ensure that policies and procedures de24 veloped under this paragraph are followed cor25 rectly and that consistent training is offered 


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1 and given to all members regarding prevention 

2 of sexual abuse; and 

3 ‘‘(E) requiring dedicated information and 

4 resources, which may include sexual assault 

5 hotlines and victims’ support resources, to be 

6 clearly listed on the national governing body’s 

7 official website; and 

8 ‘‘(11) in the case of a national governing body 

9 with jurisdiction over more than one amateur sports 

10 organization facility or event, establish a mechanism 

11 by which— 

12 ‘‘(A) the national governing body can— 

13 ‘‘(i) receive a report of suspected sex14 ual misconduct by an adult authorized by 

15 a national governing body or a member of 

16 a national governing body to interact with 

17 a minor or amateur athlete at an amateur 

18 sports organization facility or at any event 

19 sanctioned by a national governing body or 

20 a member of a national governing body; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) confidentially share a report re23 ceived under clause (i) with each of the 

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1 ties, or members under the jurisdiction of 

2 the national governing body; and 

3 ‘‘(B) an amateur sports organization, facil4 ity, or member under the jurisdiction of the na5 tional governing body can— 

6 ‘‘(i) review the reports received by the 

7 national governing body under subpara8 graph (A)(i) to assess any allegations of 

9 sexual misconduct made in such reports; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) withhold providing to an adult 

12 who is the subject of an allegation of sex13 ual misconduct in a report reviewed under 

14 clause (i) authority to interact with a 

15 minor or amateur athlete at such organiza16 tion, facility, or event until the resolution 

17 of such allegation. 

18 ‘‘(b) LIMITED LIABILITY FOR THE UNITED STATES

19 OLYMPIC COMMITTEE, NATIONAL GOVERNING BODIES, 

20 AND AN ENTITY DESIGNATED BY THE UNITED STATES

21 OLYMPIC COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE AND RESOLVE

22 SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graphs (2), no civil or criminal action may be 

25 brought in any Federal or State court against the 


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1 United States Olympic Committee, a national gov2 erning body, or an amateur sports organization, fa3 cility, or event under the jurisdiction of a national 

4 governing body, or an entity designated by the 

5 United States Olympic Committee to investigate and 

6 resolve sexual misconduct allegations described in 

7 subsection (a)(11), including any director, officer, 

8 employee, or agent of such entity, if the action arises 

9 from the execution of the responsibilities or func10 tions described in subsection (a)(11). 

11 ‘‘(2) INTENTIONAL, RECKLESS, OR OTHER MIS12 CONDUCT.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a civil 

13 or criminal action if the United States Olympic 

14 Committee, a national governing body, an amateur 

15 sports organization, facility, or event under the ju16 risdiction of a national governing body, or an entity 

17 designated by the United States Olympic Committee 

18 to investigate and resolve sexual misconduct allega19 tions described in subsection (a)(11), or a director, 

20 officer, employee, or agent of such entity acted or 

21 failed to act— 

22 ‘‘(A) with reckless disregard for a risk of 

23 causing injury; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) for a purpose unrelated to the per2 formance of any responsibility or function de3 scribed in subsection (a)(11). 

4 ‘‘(3) LIMITED EFFECT.—Nothing in this section 

5 shall apply to any act or omission arising out of any 

6 responsibility or function not described in subsection 

7 (a)(11).’’. 

8 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 220522 of 

9 such title is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub11 section (a) shall be construed to limit the ability of a na12 tional governing body to develop a policy or procedure to 

13 prevent an individual who is the subject of an allegation 

14 of sexual misconduct from interacting with a minor or 

15 amateur athlete until such time as the national governing 

16 body, or an entity with applicable jurisdiction resolves 

17 such allegation.’’. 

18 (d) REVIEW OF RECOGNITION OF AMATEUR SPORTS

19 ORGANIZATIONS AS NATIONAL GOVERNING BODIES.— 

20 Section 220521(d) of title 36, United States Code, is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘may’’ each place it appears and in2 serting ‘‘shall’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 25, 2017. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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