Orrin Hatch: “I am pleased Congress recently passed my bipartisan bill, the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance…”

“I am pleased Congress recently passed my bipartisan bill, the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018. This legislation will help provide meaningful assistance for child pornography victims to support their recovery and allow them to reclaim their lives. This is a momentous day and many years in the making. I have introduced similar versions of this bill in the last three Congresses, and I look forward to the President signing it into law. Nearly 25 years ago, Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act, which created a process for victims to seek restitution from defendants. For crimes that involve individual defendants who cause specific harm to particular victims, the restitution statute works in a straightforward way. Child pornography is unlike any other crime. The abuse involved in creating these images profoundly alters the lives of victims, while trafficking in the permanent record of that abuse perpetuates and expands the harm. As the Supreme Court noted in its 2014 opinion in Paroline v. United States: ``Every viewing of child pornography is a repetition of the victim's abuse.'' Unfortunately, the internet has radically changed the nature of child pornography trafficking by drastically increasing the number of individuals who harm victims while simultaneously making it more difficult to identify the individuals from whom victims can seek restitution.…”