Title: Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act of 2017
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act of 2017
This bill amends the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to extend the duty to report suspected child abuse, including sexual abuse, to certain adults who are authorized to interact with minor or amateur athletes at a facility under the jurisdiction of a national governing body. A national governing body is an amateur sports organization that is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
An individual who is required, but fails, to report suspected child sex abuse is subject to criminal penalties.
Additionally, the bill amends the federal criminal code to revise civil remedy provisions for a victim of a human trafficking offense or federal sex offense. Among other things, it changes the civil statute of limitations to 10 years from the date the victim discovers the violation or injury (currently, 10 years from the date the cause of action arose). The bill also extends the statute of limitations for a minor victim of a federal sex offense to file a civil action to 10 years (currently, 3 years) from the date such individual reaches age 18.
Finally, the bill amends the Amateur Sports Act of 1978: (1) to authorize national governing bodies to develop training, practices, policies, and procedures to prevent the abuse of minor or amateur athletes; and (2) to require national governing bodies to develop and enforce policies, mechanisms, and procedures to prevent, report, and respond to the abuse of minor or amateur athletes.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1973 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1973

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2017

 Mrs. Brooks of Indiana (for herself, Ms. Frankel of Florida, and Mr. 
  Goodlatte) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
    Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, 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 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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Young Victims from Sexual 
Abuse Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRED REPORTING OF CHILD AND SEXUAL ABUSE AT FACILITIES 
              UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF AMATEUR SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS 
              RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COMMITTEE.

    (a) Reporting Requirement.--Section 226 of the Victims of Child 
Abuse Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13031) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``A person who'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(1) Covered professionals.--A person who''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Individuals at covered facilities.--A covered 
        individual who, while engaged in any activity sanctioned by a 
        covered facility, learns of facts that give reason to suspect 
        that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse, including 
        sexual abuse, shall as soon as possible make a report of the 
        suspected abuse to the agency designated by the Attorney 
        General under subsection (d).'';
            (2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``subsection (a)'' and inserting ``subsection 
        (a)(1)'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) the term `covered facility' means a facility over 
        which a national governing body has jurisdiction;
            ``(10) the term `covered individual' means an adult who is 
        authorized by a covered facility or by a national governing 
        body to interact with a minor or amateur athlete at the covered 
        facility or at any event sanctioned by the covered facility; 
        and
            ``(11) the term `national governing body' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 220501(b) of title 36, United States 
        Code.'';
            (4) in subsection (d), in the first sentence, by inserting 
        ``and for all covered facilities'' after ``reside'';
            (5) in subsection (f), in the first sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``and on all'' and inserting ``on 
                all''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``and for all covered 
                facilities,'' after ``lands,''; and
            (6) in subsection (h), by inserting ``and all covered 
        individuals,'' after ``facilities,''.
    (b) Penalty for Failure To Report.--Section 2258 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting ``or while engaged in a 
professional capacity or activity at a covered facility as described in 
subsection (a)(2) of such section 226'' after ``facility''.

SEC. 3. CIVIL REMEDY FOR PERSONAL INJURIES.

    Section 2255 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--Any person who, while a minor, was a victim of a 
violation of section 1589, 1590, 1591, 2241(c), 2242, 2243, 2251, 
2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2260, 2421, 2422, or 2423 of this title and who 
suffers personal injury as a result of such violation, regardless of 
whether the injury occurred while such person was a minor, may sue in 
any appropriate United States District Court and shall recover the 
actual damages such person sustains or liquidated damages in the amount 
of $150,000, and the cost of the action, including reasonable 
attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. The 
court may also award punitive damages and such other preliminary and 
equitable relief as the court determines to be appropriate.'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``filed within'' and all 
        that follows through the end and inserting the following: 
        ``file--
            ``(1) not later than 10 years after the date on which the 
        plaintiff discovers the later of--
                    ``(A) the violation that forms the basis for the 
                claim; or
                    ``(B) the injury that forms the basis for the 
                claim; or
            ``(2) in the case of a person under a legal disability, not 
        later than 10 years after the date on which the disability 
        ends.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Venue; Service of Process.--
            ``(1) Venue.--Any action brought under subsection (a) may 
        be brought in the district court of the United States that 
        meets applicable requirements relating to venue under section 
        1391 of title 28.
            ``(2) Service of process.--In an action brought under 
        subsection (a), process may be served in any district in which 
        the defendant--
                    ``(A) is an inhabitant; or
                    ``(B) may be found.''.

SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF AMATEUR SPORTS 
              ORGANIZATIONS RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES OLYMPIC 
              COMMITTEE TO PREVENT THE ABUSE OF MINOR AND AMATEUR 
              ATHLETES.

    (a) Expansion of Authorities.--Section 220523(a) of title 36, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) develop training, oversight practices, policies, and 
        procedures to prevent the abuse, including physical abuse and 
        sexual abuse, of any minor or amateur athlete by any adult.''.
    (b) Additional Duties.--Section 220524 of such title is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and inserting 
        a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) develop and enforce policies, mechanisms, and 
        procedures to prevent the abuse, including physical abuse and 
        sexual abuse, of any minor or amateur athlete, including--
                    ``(A) requiring all members of the national 
                governing body or a facility under the jurisdiction of 
                the national governing body and adults authorized by 
                such members to interact with minor or amateur 
                athletes, to immediately report all allegations of 
                sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities and other 
                appropriate authorities whenever such members or adults 
                learn of facts leading them to reasonably suspect that 
                a minor or amateur athlete has suffered an incident of 
                sexual abuse;
                    ``(B) establishing a mechanism, approved by a 
                trained expert on child abuse, that allows a 
                complainant to easily report an incident of sexual 
                abuse committed by a member or adult described in 
                subparagraph (A) to interact with a minor or amateur 
                athlete, to the national governing body or another 
                authority;
                    ``(C) procedures to ensure that each amateur 
                athlete who is a minor is prevented from being in a 
                one-on-one situation with an adult (who is not the 
                minor's legal guardian) at a facility under the 
                jurisdiction of the national governing body without 
                being in an observable and interruptible distance from 
                another adult; and
                    ``(D) oversight procedures, including regular and 
                random audits conducted by subject matter experts 
                unaffiliated with the national governing body, of all 
                members and adults described in subparagraph (A) to 
                ensure that policies and procedures developed under 
                this paragraph are followed correctly and that 
                consistent training is offered and given to all members 
                regarding prevention of sexual abuse; and
            ``(11) in the case of a national governing body with 
        jurisdiction over more than one athletic facility, establish a 
        mechanism by which--
                    ``(A) the national governing body can--
                            ``(i) receive a report from one of such 
                        facilities regarding a case in which an adult 
                        authorized by the facility to interact with a 
                        minor or amateur athlete at such facility is 
                        expelled from or leaves such facility for 
                        sexual misconduct, including because of a mere 
                        allegation of sexual misconduct; and
                            ``(ii) share a report received under 
                        subparagraph (A) with each of the other 
                        athletic facilities under the jurisdiction of 
                        the national governing body; and
                    ``(B) an athletic facility under the jurisdiction 
                of the national governing body can--
                            ``(i) review the reports received by the 
                        national governing body under subparagraph 
                        (A)(i) to assess any allegations of sexual 
                        misconduct made in such reports; and
                            ``(ii) withhold providing to an adult who 
                        is the subject of an allegation of sexual 
                        misconduct in a report reviewed under clause 
                        (i) authority to interact with a minor or 
                        amateur athlete at such facility until such 
                        time as the facility determines that there is 
                        no risk to a minor or amateur athlete at such 
                        facility.''.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--Section 220522 of such title is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in paragraph (a) shall be 
construed to limit the ability of a national governing body to develop 
a policy or procedure to prevent an individual who is the subject of an 
allegation of sexual misconduct from interacting with a minor or 
amateur athlete until such time as the national governing body, or any 
person under the jurisdiction of the national governing body, 
determines that there is no risk to the minor or amateur athlete by 
allowing the individual to interact with the minor or amateur 
athlete.''.
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