I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4573 

To protect children from exploitation, especially sex trafficking in tourism, 

by providing advance notice of intended travel by registered child-sex 

offenders outside the United States to the government of the country 

of destination, requesting foreign governments to notify the United States 

when a known child-sex offender is seeking to enter the United States, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 6, 2014 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mrs. ELLMERS, and Mr. WOLF) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To protect children from exploitation, especially sex trafficking in tourism, by providing advance notice of intended travel by registered child-sex offenders outside 

the United States to the government of the country 

of destination, requesting foreign governments to notify 

the United States when a known child-sex offender is 

seeking to enter the United States, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘International Megan’s Law to Prevent Demand for Child 

4 Sex Trafficking’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Angel Watch Center. 

Sec. 5. Authority to restrict passports. 

Sec. 6. Sense of Congress provisions. 

Sec. 7. Enhancing the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. 

Sec. 8. Assistance to foreign countries to meet minimum standards for the 

elimination of trafficking. 

Sec. 9. Rules of construction. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Megan Nicole Kanka, who was 7 years old, 

10 was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered in 

11 1994, in the State of New Jersey by a violent pred12 ator living across the street from her home. Unbe13 knownst to Megan Kanka and her family, he had 

14 been convicted previously of a sex offense against a 

15 child. 

16 (2) In 1996, Congress adopted Megan’s Law 

17 (Public Law 104–145) as a means to encourage 

18 States to protect children by identifying the where19 abouts of sex offenders and providing the means to 

20 monitor their activities. 


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1 (3) Law enforcement reports indicate that 

2 known child-sex offenders are traveling internation3 ally, and that the criminal background of such indi4 viduals may not be known to local law enforcement 

5 prior to their arrival. 

6 (4) The commercial sexual exploitation of mi7 nors in child sex trafficking and pornography is a 

8 global phenomenon. The International Labour Orga9 nization has estimated that 1.8 million children 

10 worldwide are victims of child sex trafficking and 

11 pornography each year. 

12 (5) Child sex tourism, where an individual trav13 els to a foreign country and engages in sexual activ14 ity with a child in that country, is a form of child 

15 exploitation and, where commercial, child sex traf16 ficking. 

17 (6) According to research conducted by The 

18 Protection Project of The Johns Hopkins University 

19 Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International 

20 Studies, sex tourists from the United States who 

21 target children form a significant percentage of child 

22 sex tourists in some of the most significant destina23 tion countries for child sex tourism. 

24 (7) In order to protect children, it is essential 

25 that United States law enforcement be able to idenVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:12 May 08, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4573.IH H4573

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1 tify child-sex offenders in the United States who are 

2 traveling abroad and child-sex offenders from other 

3 countries entering the United States. Such identi4 fication requires cooperative efforts between the 

5 United States and foreign governments. In exchange 

6 for providing notice of child-sex offenders traveling 

7 to the United States, foreign authorities will expect 

8 United States authorities to provide reciprocal notice 

9 of child-sex offenders traveling to their countries. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—Except as otherwise provided, the term ‘‘ap14 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

16 Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com17 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of 

18 Representatives; and 

19 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

20 the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Com21 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern22 mental Affairs of the Senate. 

23 (2) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the 

24 Angel Watch Center established pursuant to section 

25 4(a). 


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1 (3) CHILD-SEX OFFENDER.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘child-sex of3 fender’’ means a sex offender described in para4 graph (2), (3), or (4) of section 111 of the 

5 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 

6 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16911) who is convicted of a 

7 child-sex offense. 

8 (B) DEFINITION OF CONVICTED.—In this 

9 paragraph, the term ‘‘convicted’’ has the mean10 ing given the term in paragraph (8) of section 

11 111 of such Act. 

12 (4) CHILD-SEX OFFENSE.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘child-sex of14 fense’’ means a specified offense against a 

15 minor as defined in paragraph (7) of section 

16 111 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and 

17 Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16911), includ18 ing— 

19 (i) an offense (unless committed by a 

20 parent or guardian) involving kidnapping; 

21 (ii) an offense (unless committed by a 

22 parent or guardian) involving false impris23 onment; 

24 (iii) solicitation to engage in sexual 

25 conduct; 


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1 (iv) use in a sexual performance; 

2 (v) solicitation to practice prostitu3 tion; 

4 (vi) video voyeurism as described in 

5 section 1801 of title 18, United States 

6 Code; 

7 (vii) possession, production, or dis8 tribution of child pornography; 

9 (viii) criminal sexual conduct involving 

10 a minor, or the use of the Internet to fa11 cilitate or attempt such conduct; and 

12 (ix) any conduct that by its nature is 

13 a sex offense against a minor. 

14 (B) FOREIGN CONVICTIONS.—A foreign 

15 conviction is not a child-sex offense for pur16 poses of this Act to the same extent and in the 

17 same manner as a foreign conviction is not a 

18 sex offense for purposes of the Adam Walsh 

19 Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 

20 U.S.C. 16911) as described in section 

21 111(5)(B) of such Act. 

22 (5) JURISDICTION.—The term ‘‘jurisdiction’’ 

23 means any of the following: 

24 (A) A State. 

25 (B) The District of Columbia. 


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1 (C) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

2 (D) Guam. 

3 (E) American Samoa. 

4 (F) The Northern Mariana Islands. 

5 (G) The United States Virgin Islands. 

6 (H) To the extent provided in, and subject 

7 to the requirements of, section 127 of the Adam 

8 Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 

9 (42 U.S.C. 16927), a federally recognized In10 dian tribe. 

11 (6) MINOR.—The term ‘‘minor’’ means an indi12 vidual who has not attained the age of 18 years. 

13 (7) PASSPORT CARD.—The term ‘‘passport 

14 card’’ means a document issued by the Department 

15 of State pursuant to section 7209 of the Intelligence 

16 Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 

17 (Public Law 108–458; 8 U.S.C. 1185 note). 

18 SEC. 4. ANGEL WATCH CENTER. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

21 Homeland Security shall establish within the Child Exploi22 tation Investigations Unit of United States Immigration 

23 and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the Department of 

24 Homeland Security a Center, to be known as the ‘‘Angel 


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1 Watch Center’’, to carry out the activities specified in sub2 section (d). 

3 (b) LEADERSHIP.—The Center shall be headed by the 

4 Director of ICE, in collaboration with the Commissioner 

5 of United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

6 and in consultation with the Attorney General. 

7 (c) MEMBERS.—The Center shall consist of the fol8 lowing: 

9 (1) The Director of ICE. 

10 (2) The Commissioner of CBP. 

11 (3) Individuals who are designated as analysts 

12 in ICE or CBP. 

13 (4) Individuals who are designated as program 

14 managers in ICE or CBP. 

15 (d) ACTIVITIES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall carry out 

17 the following activities: 

18 (A) Receive information on travel by child19 sex offenders. 

20 (B) Transmit notice of impending or cur21 rent international travel by child-sex offenders 

22 to the Secretary of State, accompanied by an 

23 advisory regarding whether or not the period of 

24 validity of the passport of the child-sex offender 

25 should be limited to one year or such period of 


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1 time as the Secretary of State shall determine 

2 appropriate. 

3 (C) Establish a system to maintain and ar4 chive all relevant information, including the re5 sponse of destination countries to notifications 

6 under subsection (e) where available, and deci7 sions not to transmit notification abroad. 

8 (D) Establish an annual review process to 

9 ensure that the Center is consistent in proce10 dures to provide notification to destination 

11 countries or not to provide notification to des12 tination countries, as appropriate. 

13 (2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The United 

14 States Marshals Service’s National Sex Offender 

15 Targeting Office shall make available to the Center 

16 information on travel by child-sex offenders in a 

17 timely manner for purposes of carrying out the ac18 tivities described in paragraph (1) and subsection 

19 (e). 

20 (e) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY RELATED TO TRANS21 MISSION OF NOTICE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Center may transmit 

23 notice of impending or current international travel of 

24 child-sex offenders to the country or countries of 

25 destination of such child-sex offenders, including to 


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1 the visa-issuing agent or agents in the United States 

2 of such country or countries, as follows: 

3 (A) The notice may be transmitted 

4 through such means as determined appropriate 

5 by the Center, including through an ICE 

6 attache ́. 

7 (B) If the Center has reason to believe 

8 that transmission of the notice poses a risk to 

9 the life or well-being of the child-sex offender, 

10 the Center shall make every reasonable effort to 

11 issue a warning to the child-sex offender of 

12 such risk. 

13 (2) SUNSET.—The authority of paragraph (1) 

14 shall terminate with respect to a child-sex offender 

15 beginning as of the close of the last day of the reg16 istration period of such child-sex offender under sec17 tion 115 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and 

18 Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16915). 

19 (f) COMPLAINT REVIEW.—The Center shall establish 

20 a mechanism to receive complaints from child-sex offend21 ers affected by notifications of destination countries of 

22 such child-sex offenders under subsection (e). 

23 (g) CONSULTATIONS.—The Center shall seek to en24 gage in ongoing consultations with— 


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1 (1) nongovernmental organizations, including 

2 faith-based organizations, that have experience and 

3 expertise in identifying and preventing child sex 

4 tourism and rescuing and rehabilitating minor vic5 tims of international sexual exploitation and traf6 ficking; 

7 (2) the governments of countries interested in 

8 cooperating in the creation of an international sex 

9 offender travel notification system or that are pri10 mary destination or source countries for inter11 national sex tourism; and 

12 (3) Internet service and software providers re13 garding available and potential technology to facili14 tate the implementation of an international sex of15 fender travel notification system, both in the United 

16 States and in other countries. 

17 (h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security and the Secretary of State may pro19 vide technical assistance to foreign authorities in order to 

20 enable such authorities to participate more effectively in 

21 the notification program system established under this 

22 section. 

23 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT PASSPORTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State is author25 ized to— 


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1 (1) limit to 1 year or such period of time as the 

2 Secretary of State shall determine appropriate the 

3 period of validity of a passport issued to a child-sex 

4 offender; and 

5 (2) revoke the passport or passport card of an 

6 individual who has been convicted by a court of com7 petent jurisdiction in a foreign country of a child-sex 

8 offense. 

9 (b) LIMITATION FOR RETURN TO UNITED STATES.— 

10 Notwithstanding subsection (a), in no case shall a United 

11 States citizen convicted by a court of competent jurisdic12 tion in a foreign country of a child-sex offense be pre13 cluded from entering the United States due to a passport 

14 revocation under such subsection. 

15 (c) REAPPLICATION.—An individual whose passport 

16 or passport card was revoked pursuant to subsection 

17 (a)(2) may reapply for a passport or a passport card at 

18 any time after such individual has returned to the United 

19 States. 

20 (d) TIME LIMITATION.—The time limitation on valid21 ity or revocation of a passport or passport card under sub22 section (a) may not exceed the applicable registration pe23 riod for the child-sex offender to register pursuant to sec24 tion 115 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety 

25 Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16915). 


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1 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) BILATERAL AGREEMENTS.—It is the sense of 

3 Congress that the President should negotiate memoranda 

4 of understanding or other bilateral agreements with for5 eign governments to further the purposes of this Act and 

6 the amendments made by this Act, including by— 

7 (1) establishing systems to receive and transmit 

8 notices as required by title I of the Adam Walsh 

9 Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 

10 16901 et seq.); and 

11 (2) establishing mechanisms for private compa12 nies and nongovernmental organizations to report on 

13 a voluntary basis suspected child pornography or ex14 ploitation to foreign governments, the nearest 

15 United States embassy in cases in which a possible 

16 United States citizen may be involved, or other ap17 propriate entities. 

18 (b) NOTIFICATION TO THE UNITED STATES OF

19 CHILD-SEX OFFENSES COMMITTED ABROAD.—It is the 

20 sense of Congress that the President should formally re21 quest foreign governments to notify the United States 

22 when a United States citizen has been arrested, convicted, 

23 sentenced, or completed a prison sentence for a child-sex 

24 offense in the foreign country. 


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1 SEC. 7. ENHANCING THE MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE 

2 ELIMINATION OF TRAFFICKING. 

3 Section 108(b)(4) of the Trafficking Victims Protec4 tion Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7106(b)(4)) is amended by 

5 adding at the end before the period the following: ‘‘, in6 cluding cases involving nationals of that country who are 

7 suspected of engaging in severe forms of trafficking of per8 sons in another country’’. 

9 SEC. 8. ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES TO MEET 

10 MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMI11 NATION OF TRAFFICKING. 

12 The President is strongly encouraged to exercise the 

13 authorities of section 134 of the Foreign Assistance Act 

14 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152d) to provide assistance to foreign 

15 countries directly, or through nongovernmental and multi16 lateral organizations, for programs, projects, and activi17 ties, including training of law enforcement entities and of18 ficials, designed to establish systems to identify sex offend19 ers and provide and receive notification of child sex of20 fender international travel. 

21 SEC. 9. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

22 (a) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—Nothing in this Act 

23 shall be construed to preclude or alter the jurisdiction or 

24 authority of the Department of Justice under the Adam 

25 Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 

26 16901 et seq.) or any other provision law, or to affect the 


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1 work of the United States Marshals Service with 

2 INTERPOL. 

3 (b) ANGEL WATCH CENTER.—Nothing in this Act 

4 shall be construed to preclude the Angel Watch Center 

5 from transmitting notice on sex offenders as defined in 

6 section 111 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safe7 ty Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16911). 

Æ 


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