IIA
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2974
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MAY 8, 1996
Received
MAY 14, 1996
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
AN ACT
To amend the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement
Act of 1994 to provide enhanced penalties for crimes
against elderly and child victims.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Crimes Against Chil-
dren and Elderly Persons Increased Punishment Act’’.
SEC. 2. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR VULNERABLE VICTIMS.
Section 240002 of the Violent Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act of 1994 is amended to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘SEC. 240002. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR VULNERABLE
VICTIMS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Sentencing
Commission shall amend the Federal sentencing guidelines
to provide a sentencing enhancement of not less than 5
levels above the offense level otherwise provided for a
crime of violence, including those crimes of violence involv-
ing the environment, if the crime of violence is against
a child, elderly person, or other vulnerable person. If the
crime of violence is also a sex crime against a child, the
enhancement provided under the preceding sentence shall
be 6 instead of 5 levels.
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘crime of violence’ has the mean-
ing given that term in section 16 of title 18, United
States Code;
‘‘(2) the term ‘child’ means a person who is 14
years of age, or younger;
‘‘(3) the term ‘elderly person’ means a person
who is 65 years of age or older; and
‘‘(4) the term ‘vulnerable person’ means a per-
son whom the defendant knew or should have known
was unusually vulnerable due to age, physical or
mental condition, or otherwise particularly suscep-
tible to the criminal conduct, or is a victim of an of-
fense under section 2241(e) of title 18, United
States Code.’’.
SEC. 3. SHORT TITLE.
Section 4 may be cited as the ‘‘Amber Hagerman
Child Protection Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 4. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR FEDERAL SEX OF-
FENSES AGAINST CHILDREN.
(a) AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR.—
Section 2241(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amend-
ed—
(1) by inserting ‘‘whoever in interstate or for-
eign commerce or’’ before ‘‘in the special’’;
(2) by inserting ‘‘crosses a State line with in-
tent to engage in a sexual act with a person who has
not attained the age of 12 years, or’’ after ‘‘Who-
ever’’; and
(3) by adding at the end of the following: ‘‘If
the defendant has previously been convicted of an-
other Federal offense under this subsection or under
section 2243(a), or of a State offense that would
have been an offense under either such provision had
the offense occurred in a Federal prison, unless the
death penalty is imposed, the defendant shall be sen-
tenced to life in prison.’’.
(b) SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR.—Section 2243(a)
of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘whoever in interstate for for-
eign commerce or’’ before ‘‘in the special’’;
(2) by inserting ‘‘crosses a State line with in-
tent to engage in a sexual act with a person who,
or’’ after ‘‘Whoever’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If the
defendant has previously been convicted of another
Federal offense under this subsection or under sec-
tion 2241(c), or of a State offense that would have
been an offense under either such provision had the
offense occurred in a Federal prison, unless the
death penalty is imposed, the defendant shall be sen-
tenced to life in prison.’’.
SEC. 5. FEDERAL JURISDICTION OVER RAPE AND SEXUAL
ASSAULT CASES.
Section 2241 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) PUNISHMENT FOR SEXUAL PREDATORS.—(1)
Whoever, in a circumstance described in paragraph (2) of
this subsection—
‘‘(A) violates this section; or
‘‘(B) engages in conduct that would violate this
section, if the conduct had occurred in the special
maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United
States, and—
‘‘(i) that conduct is in interstate or foreign
commerce;
‘‘(ii) the person engaging in that conduct
crossed a State line with intent to engage in the
conduct; or
‘‘(iii) the person engaging in that conduct
thereafter engages in conduct that is a violation
of section 1073(1) with respect to an offense
that consists of the conduct so engaged in;
shall be imprisoned for life.
‘‘(2) The circumstance referred to in paragraph (1)
of this subsection is that the defendant has previously
been convicted of another State or Federal offense for con-
duct which—
‘‘(A) is an offense under this section or section
2242 of this title; or
‘‘(B) would have been an offense under either
of such sections if the offense had occurred in the
special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the
United States.’’.
SEC. 6. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO BODY ARMOR.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the
‘‘James Guelff Body Armor Act of 1996’’.
(b) 
SENTENCING
ENHANCEMENT.—The 
United
States Sentencing Commission shall amend the Federal
sentencing guidlines to provide an appropriate sentencing
enhancement for any crime of violence against a vulner-
able person (which for the purposes of this section shall
include a law enforcement officer) as defined in section
240002 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforce-
ment Act of 1994 in which the defendant used body
armor.
(c) For purposes of this section—
(1) the term ‘‘body armor’’ means any product
sold or offered for sale as personal protective body
covering intended to protect against gunfire, regard-
less of whether the product is to be worn alone or
is sold as a complement to another product or gar-
ment; and
(2) the term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ means
any officer, agent, or employee of the United States,
a State, or a political subdivision of a State, author-
ized by law or by a government agency to engage in
or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation,
or prosecution of any violation of criminal law.
SEC. 7. AMENDMENT OF SENTENCING GUIDELINES TO PRO-
VIDE FOR ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR A DE-
FENDANT WHO COMMITS A CRIME WHILE IN
POSSESSION OF A FIREARM WITH A LASER
SIGHTING DEVICE.
Not later than May 1, 1997, the United States Sen-
tencing Commission shall, pursuant to its authority under
section 994 of title 28, United States Code, amend the
sentencing guidelines (and, if the Commission considers
it appropriate, the policy statements of the Commission)
to provide that a defendant convicted of a crime of violence
against a child, elderly person, or other vulnerable person
(as such terms are defined in section 240002(b) of the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994)
shall receive an appropriate sentence enhancement if, dur-
ing the crime—
(1) the defendant possessed a firearm equipped
with a laser sighting device; or
(2) the defendant possessed a firearm, and the
defendant (or another person at the scene of the
crime who was aiding in the commission of the
crime) possessed a laser sighting device capable of
being readily attached to the firearm.
Passed the House of Representatives May 7, 1996.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.