Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) co-sponsored the Child RESCUE Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Abigail Spanberger (VA-07) and Ben Cline (VA-06) to strengthen federal efforts to rescue U.S. children from sexual exploitation and abuse.

According to The New York Times, technology companies reported more than 45 million photos and videos online of children being sexually abused in 2018 — more than double what was found the year prior. Separately, the U.S. Sentencing Commission released a report last month which studied child sexual abuse image producers and found that these crimes had increased by 422 percent over the last 15 years.

The Child Response to Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of Children in Unaddressed Emergencies Act, or Child RESCUE Act, would create a national commission to study proactive strategies and identify the resources needed to locate and rescue children from sexual exploitation and abuse.

“As a father of six and grandfather to 16, I am heartsick by the prevalence of child abuse, exploitation, and horrific trauma in our country,” said Rep. Owens. “The Child RESCUE Act will rapidly expand our toolbox to assist local child protective services and law enforcement officials in the fight to protect our children, prosecute offenders, and put an end to these heinous crimes.”

The full text of the Child RESCUE Act is available here.

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