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Title 34, NavyRelease 119-110

§21501 Findings

Title 34 › Subtitle II — Protection of Children and Other Persons › CHAPTER 215 — ADVANCED NOTIFICATION OF TRAVELING SEX OFFENDERS › § 21501

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Congress explains why it passed laws to protect children from sex offenders. In 1994, seven‑year‑old Megan Nicole Kanka was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered by a neighbor who had a prior child‑sex conviction. Congress then passed Megan’s Law in 1996 (Public Law 104–145) and the Adam Walsh Act in 2006 (Public Law 109–248) to set up national offender registration and public notice. Reports show known child‑sex offenders travel abroad. The International Labour Organization estimates 1,8000,000 children suffer commercial sexual exploitation each year. Child sex tourism—traveling to another country to have sex with a child—is a form of exploitation and can be child sex trafficking.

Full Legal Text

Title 34, §21501

Navy, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Congress finds the following:
(1)Megan Nicole Kanka, who was 7 years old, was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered in 1994, in the State of New Jersey by a violent predator living across the street from her home. Unbeknownst to Megan Kanka and her family, he had been convicted previously of a sex offense against a child.
(2)In 1996, Congress adopted Megan’s Law (Public Law 104–145) as a means to encourage States to protect children by identifying the whereabouts of sex offenders and providing the means to monitor their activities.
(3)In 2006, Congress passed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–248) to protect children and the public at large by establishing a comprehensive national system for the registration and notification to the public and law enforcement officers of convicted sex offenders.
(4)Law enforcement reports indicate that known child-sex offenders are traveling internationally.
(5)The commercial sexual exploitation of minors in child sex trafficking and pornography is a global phenomenon. The International Labour Organization has estimated that 1,8000,000 children worldwide are victims of child sex trafficking and pornography each year.
(6)Child sex tourism, where an individual travels to a foreign country and engages in sexual activity with a child in that country, is a form of child exploitation and, where commercial, child sex trafficking.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Megan’s Law, referred to in par. (2), is Pub. L. 104–145, May 17, 1996, 110 Stat. 1345, which amended former section 14071 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

of 1996

Amendments

note set out under section 13701 of Title 42 and Tables. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, referred to in par. (3), is Pub. L. 109–248, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 587, which enacted chapter 209 (§ 20901 et seq.) of this title and enacted, amended, and repealed numerous other sections and notes in the Code. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

of 2006 Act note set out under section 10101 of this title and Tables. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 16935 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

34 U.S.C. § 21501

Title 34, Navy

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110