I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6568 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to make it a criminal offense for 
Federal law enforcement officers to engage in sexual acts with individuals 
in their custody, to encourage States to adopt similar laws, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2018 
Ms. SPEIER (for herself and Mrs. COMSTOCK) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to make it a criminal 
offense for Federal law enforcement officers to engage 
in sexual acts with individuals in their custody, to en-
courage States to adopt similar laws, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Closing the Law En-
forcement Consent Loophole Act of 2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS PROHIB-
ITED FROM ENGAGING IN SEXUAL ACTS WITH 
INDIVIDUALS IN THEIR CUSTODY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2243 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘, OR 
OF INDIVIDUAL IN THE CUSTODY OF A FEDERAL 
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 
subsections (d) and (e); 
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) OF INDIVIDUAL IN THE CUSTODY OF A FED-
ERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—Whoever, being a 
Federal law enforcement officer, knowingly engages in a 
sexual act with an individual who is under arrest, in deten-
tion, or otherwise in the actual custody of that Federal 
law enforcement officer, shall be fined under this title, im-
prisoned not more than 15 years, or both.’’; and 
(4) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) In a prosecution under subsection (c), it is 
not a defense that the other person consented to the 
sexual act.’’. 
(b) DEFINITION.—Section 2246 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(7) the term ‘Federal law enforcement officer’ 
means an officer or employee of the United States, 
the duties of whose position are primarily the inves-
tigation, apprehension, or detention of individuals 
suspected or convicted of offenses against the crimi-
nal laws of the United States.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 109A of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by amending the item related to section 2243 
to read as follows: 
‘‘2243. Sexual abuse of a minor or ward, or of an individual in the custody of 
a Federal law enforcement officer.’’. 
SEC. 3. INCENTIVES FOR STATES. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—The Attorney 
General is authorized to make grants to States that have 
in place a law that— 
(1) makes it a criminal offense for a law en-
forcement officer in that State to engage in a sexual 
act with an individual who is under arrest, in deten-
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tion, or otherwise in the actual custody of that law 
enforcement officer; and 
(2) prohibits a law enforcement officer charged 
with such an offense from asserting the consent of 
the other individual as a defense. 
(b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—A State that re-
ceives a grant under this section shall submit to the Attor-
ney General, on an annual basis, information on the num-
ber of reports made to law enforcement agencies in that 
State regarding law enforcement officers engaging in a 
sexual act with an individual described in paragraph (1), 
during the previous year. 
(c) APPLICATION.—A State seeking a grant under 
this section shall submit an application to the Attorney 
General at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Attorney General may reasonably 
require, including information about the law described in 
subsection (a). 
(d) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant to a 
State under this Act shall be in an amount that is not 
greater than 10 percent of the average of the total amount 
of funding of the 3 most recent awards that the State re-
ceived under the following grant programs: 
(1) Part T of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con-
trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10441 
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