Why This Matters
Under current federal law, a child must be engaged in sexually explicit conduct
for the medium to be considered child sexual abuse or what many still refer to
as child pornography. Since current law doesn't cover certain types of abuse
or exploitive imagery, this discrepancy allows predators to create child
erotica such as sexually suggestive photos and videos with children in
lingerie, staged in abusive scenarios and other imagery used for the purpose
of adult sexual gratification.
Child erotica is often the first step down the path toward greater crimes like
possession of child sexual abuse material and child sexual abuse. Closing this
loophole and intervening at an earlier stage will protect victims and prevent
more heinous crimes.
