S. 3394

119 S3394 IS: Sentencing Accountability For Exploitation Act
 U.S. Senate
 2025-12-09
 text/xml
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 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
  II
  119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
  S. 3394
  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
  December 9, 2025
  Mr. Grassley  (for himself,  Mr. Durbin ,  Mrs.
  Blackburn , and  Mr. Graham )
  introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
  Committee on the
  Judiciary
  A BILL
To direct the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing
  guideline relating to child sexual abuse material.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Sentencing Accountability For Exploitation Act   or the   SAFE Act  .
2.
Amendment of Federal sentencing guideline relating to child sexual abuse
  material
(a)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Child
The term  child  means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age.
(2)
Child sexual abuse material
The term  child sexual abuse material  has the meaning given the term  child pornography  in section 2256(8) of title 18, United States Code.
(3)
Prohibited sexual conduct against a child
The term  prohibited sexual conduct against a child —
(A)
means—
(i)
conduct committed against a child relating to—
(I)
kidnapping;
(II)
illegal sexual abuse, contact, or activity;
(III)
live streaming of child sexual abuse;
(IV)
using a child to produce child sexual abuse material; or
(V)
sexual exploitation, including child sex trafficking; or
(ii)
an attempt or conspiracy to engage in any conduct described in subclauses (I) through (V) of clause (i);
(B)
does not include conduct involving or similar to advertising, transporting, mailing, distributing, receiving, possession, accessing, or viewing child sexual abuse material; and
(C)
does not require a conviction.
(b)
Directive
Pursuant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of an offense under section 1466A, 2251(d)(1)(A), 2252, 2252A, or 2260(b) of title 18, United States Code, in order to reflect the intent of Congress that penalties for the offense under the guidelines and policy statements—
(1)
appropriately account for—
(A)
the actual and potential harm to victims and to the public from the offense; and
(B)
changes that have occurred since the relevant guidelines and policy statements were last amended with respect to—
(i)
typical offense behavior; and
(ii)
the use of modern computer and internet technologies; and
(2)
to better reflect the current spectrum of offender culpability.
(c)
Requirements
In carrying out subsection (b), the United States Sentencing Commission shall—
(1)
ensure that the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements reflect—
(A)
the seriousness of the offenses described in that subsection;
(B)
the need to afford adequate deterrence to commission of the offenses;
(C)
the need for just punishment for the offenses;
(D)
the need to protect the public from further crimes of a defendant convicted of any such offense; and
(E)
the need to differentiate among offenders based on their culpability and potential dangerousness;
(2)
avoid duplicative punishment within the applicable guidelines and under the Federal sentencing guidelines for substantially the same conduct;
(3)
develop a guideline that accounts for—
(A)
whether, prior to, during, or after the offense at issue, the defendant engaged in, conspired to engage in, or attempted to engage in—
(i)
an act of prohibited conduct against a child; or
(ii)
a pattern of activity involving prohibited conduct against a child, whether involving a single victim or multiple victims;
(B)
whether, prior to, during, or after the offense at issue, the defendant—
(i)
participated in a group dedicated to child sexual abuse material or prohibited conduct against a child; or
(ii)
encouraged, instructed, required, or similarly caused another individual to commit an offense involving child sexual abuse material or prohibited conduct against a child;
(C)
whether the defendant engaged in multiple acts, not accounted for in the defendant’s criminal history or counts of conviction, involving child sexual abuse material over an extended period of time or with a high degree of frequency;
(D)
whether the defendant intentionally used, or promoted the use of, software, technology, procedures, or any other means to conceal the offense or the identity or location of the defendant or any victim, or to destroy evidence for an improper purpose, unless accounted for in the conduct of conviction;
(E)
whether 3 or more online channels, technologies, platforms, or methods were used to commit the offense;
(F)
gradations in—
(i)
the severity of the depicted sexually explicit conduct, including especially severe physical or emotional trauma; and
(ii)
the age or physical development of the minor;
(G)
the number of items of child sexual abuse material or the number of victims involved in the offense;
(H)
whether the offense involved distribution of child sexual abuse material, accounting for the nature of the distribution, including—
(i)
distribution in order to receive any valuable consideration; and
(ii)
distribution through any method that does not limit who can obtain the material or how many individuals can obtain the material;
(I)
whether the offense involved the production, creation, or manufacture of child sexual abuse material that is not subject to the cross reference in section 2G2.2(c)(1) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual to section 2G2.1 of the Manual;
(J)
whether the offense was the direct and proximate cause of the victim’s death by suicide; and
(K)
any other conduct or factors that the United States Sentencing Commission determines appropriate to reflect the seriousness of the offense and differentiate among offenders;
(4)
make any necessary conforming changes to the guidelines; and
(5)
ensure that the guidelines adequately meet the purposes of sentencing, as set forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code.
(d)
Authority for United States Sentencing Commission
In carrying out this section, the United States Sentencing Commission—
(1)
may amend provisions of the Federal sentencing guidelines that were promulgated pursuant to any other specific congressional directives or legislation directly amending the guidelines and promulgate amendments that would result in sentencing ranges different than those that would have applied under such directives or legislation; and
(2)
in developing a guideline that comports with the requirements of this section, particularly accounting for the factors set forth in subsection (c)(3)—
(A)
may—
(i)
design the specific offense characteristics, including the increase in offense level that each offense characteristic would provide; and
(ii)
define any terms; and
(B)
may not lower the applicable base offense level provided in section 2G2.2(a) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
(e)
Repeals
(1)
Laws
The following provisions of law are repealed:
(A)
Section 632 of the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations Act, 1992 ( 28 U.S.C. 994  note;  Public Law 102–141 ).
(B)
Sections 2 and 3 of the Sex Crimes Against Children Prevention Act of 1995 ( 28 U.S.C. 994  note;  Public Law 104–71 ).
(C)
Section 401(i)(1) of the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 ( 28 U.S.C. 994  note;  Public Law 108–21 ).
(2)
Guidelines
Section 2G2.2(b) of the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines Manual is amended by striking paragraph (7).