# 119-hr-2735: Strengthening Child Exploitation Enforcement Act

119-hr-2735, Strengthening Child Exploitation Enforcement Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Nehls, Troy E. [R-TX-22] (R-TX); status introduced (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2735
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-2735
- Congress: 119
- Title: Strengthening Child Exploitation Enforcement Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-08
- Sponsor: Rep. Nehls, Troy E. [R-TX-22] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 8
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Strengthening federal criminal rules for kidnapping and sexual misconduct involving minors.** This bill would add new federal offenses and tighten legal definitions and penalties for kidnapping and sexual contact with persons under 16. - Creates a new federal crime for knowingly causing intentional, non-clothed touching of the genitalia of someone under 16 in federal jurisdictions, including maritime areas, federal prisons, and facilities under federal contract. Penalties include fines, imprisonment, or both. - Limits the lack-of-consent defense for victims under 16 by requiring an offender to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that they reasonably believed the victim was at least 16. It also makes the change to the travel element in section 2241(c) retroactive to conduct before, on, or after enactment. - Revises kidnapping and sexual-offense language across the federal code. Changes include adding "obtaining by defrauding or deceiving" to kidnapping, replacing "crosses a State line" with "travels in interstate or foreign commerce," expanding attempt and penalty rules in section 2244, and updating cross-references and sentencing classifications to match the new framework.

## Cosponsors (8)

- Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4] (D-PA), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1] (D-NC), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1] (R-AL), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tiffany, Thomas P. [R-WI-7] (R-WI), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ), 2025-06-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA), 2025-08-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gillen, Laura [D-NY-4] (D-NY), 2025-10-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DesJarlais, Scott [R-TN-4] (R-TN), 2026-02-09T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Tougher charges for child sexual contact: benefit, high. This bill would broaden federal crimes for sexual contact with minors and treat attempts the same as completed crimes. It would cover causing another person to commit the contact and contact by an individual, closing gaps. It would also create a new crime for knowingly touching a child’s genitals,…
- Stronger kidnapping rules for minors: benefit, medium. This bill would expand federal kidnapping to include getting a person by fraud or deception. For victims under age 16, consent would not be a defense. An accused person would have to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they reasonably thought the victim was at least 16. If enacted, this…
- Wider federal reach for travel crimes: benefit, medium. This bill would change the rule from "crosses a State line" to "travels in interstate or foreign commerce" for certain child sex crimes. It would apply this change to conduct before, on, or after enactment. It would also expand travel-related offenses to cover any conduct involving sexual activity,…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-2853: Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250
- 119-hr-4398: Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act
- 119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2192: Air America Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-2735 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2735)

## Related
- [119-hr-2853: Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2853)
- [119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9250)
- [119-hr-4398: Veteran Burial Timeliness and Death Certificate Accountability Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4398)
- [119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-909)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-2192: Air America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2192)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2735 (as of 2026-04-21).