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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bills suggest raising child porn fines for offenders

Chad Sokol Murrow News Service

OLYMPIA – In an effort to fight rapidly growing cases of child pornography in Washington, legislators are considering raising the fines when offenders are found with those images.

Washington has nearly 17,000 cases of child pornography possession each year, with more than half directly linked to rape and abuse, law enforcement officials said. A pair of bills would charge offenders $1,000 for each image found in their possession.

“They are crime scene images of helpless children being raped and brutalized,” Alicia Kozakiewicz told the House Public Safety Committee on Friday. “For most of those Washington children, there will not be a rescue – at least not today.”

Kozakiewicz was rescued by the FBI after her 2002 abduction and rape in Virginia. She travels the country advocating for state laws to fight child trafficking.

Possessing child pornography is a felony with penalties of up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $20,000. The bill the committee was considering would allow an additional fine of $1,000 for each image that results in a separate conviction.

Money from the fines would be used to combat child pornography through a new Internet Crimes Against Children Account.

The bill also directs one-third of unclaimed prize money from the state lottery go into that account. Most unclaimed prize money now goes into the state’s general budget.

Money from the account would be split with one-quarter going to organizations that help victims of child sexual abuse and three-quarters to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The task force of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies specializes in crimes related to child pornography. It receives money from the U.S. Department of Justice and is led by the Seattle Police Department.

The bill’s supporters said federal funding is not enough, and it’s up to the state to train and equip the task force. The Seattle Police Department has seven full-time, specially trained officers for investigating child trafficking, but most agencies in the state have none.

“It’s not a subject that is fun conversation, but it is a necessary one,” said Rep. David Sawyer, D-Tacoma, the bill’s prime sponsor. “It’s up to us to say that we value these kids and we’re going to rescue them when we can.”

Similar legislation to set up an account is pending in the Senate.