CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has joined a group of 55 attorneys general in pushing the U.S. House of Representatives to support timely and meaningful restitution for victims of child pornography.
The bipartisan coalition’s letter, sent March 6, urged House leaders to pass the Amy, Vicky and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2017. It would establish restitution guidelines and ensure victims receive those funds in a more appropriate manner.
“Preventing victims from collecting full restitution protects defendants, who are shielded from having to pay meaningful costs to those they have harmed,” Morrisey joined in writing. “While nothing can undo the harm done to these victims by perpetrators who produce, share and view these images, Congress can act to make it easier for victims to receive meaningful restitution.”
The surge in online child pornography has led to increased victimization and trafficking to meet the demand for new pictures and live video of sexual violence against young children.
Existing law requires a child pornography victim to pursue every case in which a defendant is found to possess that victim’s image, even though every image is trafficked worldwide and may be possessed or shared by thousands of individual defendants.
Even then, the victim may receive only a small amount of restitution in each case.
West Virginia signed onto the Utah- and Washington-led letter with attorneys general from every state and territory as well as the District of Columbia. Similar legislation already passed the U.S. Senate.