YourVoice.Now Summary
Criminal Justice & Due ProcessMakes pushing a child toward suicide or harm a federal crime — up to life — plus 10 years for sextortion threats.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
The bill tells the U.S. Sentencing Commission to count child abuse the person was never convicted of. Conduct a jury cleared them of would not count.
The new crime covers more than direct threats. Lies, bullying, shaming, and wearing a child down all count if used to make them hurt themselves or others.
The new crime joins a list that lets federal prosecutors move a youth case to adult court. A teen who coerces another child could face adult charges.
More about this bill
Pushing a child into suicide or violence would become its own federal crime. The crime covers threats, blackmail, harassment, humiliation, and manipulation. It covers acts carried out online, by phone, or by mail. A conviction could bring life in prison. Coercing a child to hurt a pet, a service animal, or set a fire would carry up to 30 years. Threatening to share sexual images of a child would also become a crime. That holds even when no such image exists. When such images are used to scare or extort someone, the top sentence for several existing crimes would rise by 10 years. The bill also orders the U.S. Sentencing Commission to rewrite its sentence ranges for these crimes. That panel sets the ranges federal judges use. The new ranges must weigh live-streamed abuse, hidden identities, and how many children were harmed. The panel may not lower the starting level for these crimes. Most families would see no change in daily life. What changes is what happens if a child is targeted.
Congressional Summary
Expands the federal framework for combating online child exploitation through sentencing review, establishing offenses for online coercion, and criminalizing sextortion practices.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 346.
- Action Date
- 2026-03-02
- Date Added
- 2026-04-03
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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