Closing the Law Enforcement Consent Loophole Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2172 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit law enforcement officers from engaging in sexual activity with persons in custody, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 23, 2021 Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. NOR- TON, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. LAN- GEVIN, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. CHU, Mr. KIL- MER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. HOULAHAN, and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit law enforcement officers from engaging in sexual activity with persons in custody, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Closing the Law En- 4 forcement Consent Loophole Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2172.IH H2172 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2172 IH SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON ENGAGING IN SEXUAL ACTS 1 WHILE ACTING UNDER COLOR OF LAW. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2243 of title 18, United 3 States Code, is amended— 4 (1) in the section heading, by adding at the end 5 the following: ‘‘or by any person acting 6 under color of law’’; 7 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 8 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; 9 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(c) OF AN INDIVIDUAL BY ANY PERSON ACTING 12 UNDER COLOR OF LAW.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, acting under 14 color of law, knowingly engages in a sexual act with 15 an individual who is under arrest, in detention, or 16 otherwise in the actual custody of any Federal law 17 enforcement officer, shall be fined under this title, 18 imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both. 19 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 20 ‘sexual act’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 21 tion 2246.’’; and 22 (4) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by 23 adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2172.IH H2172 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2172 IH ‘‘(3) In a prosecution under subsection (c), it is not 1 a defense that the other individual consented to the sexual 2 act.’’. 3 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 2246 of title 18, United 4 States Code, is amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 6 end; 7 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(7) the term ‘Federal law enforcement officer’ 12 has the meaning given the term in section 115.’’. 13 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 14 for chapter 109A of title 18, United States Code, is 15 amended by amending the item related to section 2243 16 to read as follows: 17 ‘‘2243. Sexual abuse of a minor or ward or by any person acting under color of law.’’. SEC. 3. ENACTMENT OF LAWS PENALIZING ENGAGING IN 18 SEXUAL ACTS WHILE ACTING UNDER COLOR 19 OF LAW. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in the first fiscal year 21 that begins after the date that is one year after the date 22 of enactment of this Act, in the case of a State or unit 23 of local government that does not have in effect a law de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2172.IH H2172 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2172 IH scribed in subsection (b), if that State or unit of local gov- 1 ernment that would otherwise receive funds under the 2 COPS grant program, that State or unit of local govern- 3 ment shall not be eligible to receive such funds. In the 4 case of a multi-jurisdictional or regional consortium, if any 5 member of that consortium is a State or unit of local gov- 6 ernment that does not have in effect a law described in 7 subsection (b), if that consortium would otherwise receive 8 funds under the COPS grant program, that consortium 9 shall not be eligible to receive such funds. 10 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LAW.—A law described in this 11 subsection is a law that— 12 (1) makes it a criminal offense for any person 13 acting under color of law of the State or unit of local 14 government to engage in a sexual act with an indi- 15 vidual who is under arrest, in detention, or otherwise 16 in the actual custody of any law enforcement officer; 17 and 18 (2) prohibits a person charged with an offense 19 described in paragraph (1) from asserting the con- 20 sent of the other individual as a defense. 21 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—A State or unit of 22 local government that receives a grant under the COPS 23 grant program shall submit to the Attorney General, on 24 an annual basis, information on— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2172.IH H2172 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2172 IH (1) the number of reports made to law enforce- 1 ment agencies in that State or unit of local govern- 2 ment regarding persons engaging in a sexual act 3 while acting under color of law during the previous 4 year; and 5 (2) the disposition of each case in which sexual 6 misconduct by a person acting under color of law 7 was reported during the previous year. 8 SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 9 (a) REPORT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Not later 10 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 11 each year thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit 12 to Congress a report containing— 13 (1) the information required to be reported to 14 the Attorney General under section 403(b); and 15 (2) information on— 16 (A) the number of reports made, during 17 the previous year, to Federal law enforcement 18 agencies regarding persons engaging in a sexual 19 act while acting under color of law; and 20 (B) the disposition of each case in which 21 sexual misconduct by a person acting under 22 color of law was reported. 23 (b) REPORT BY GAO.—Not later than 1 year after 24 the date of enactment of this Act, and each year there- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2172.IH H2172 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2172 IH after, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 1 submit to Congress a report on any violations of section 2 2243(c) of title 18, United States Code, as amended by 3 section 402, committed during the 1-year period covered 4 by the report. 5 SEC. 5. DEFINITION. 6 In this Act, the term ‘‘sexual act’’ has the meaning 7 given the term in section 2246 of title 18, United States 8 Code. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2172.IH H2172 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS