Manley Sponsors Bill to Protect Child Pornography Victims

Submitted by the office of State Rep. Natalie Manley:

State Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, said she is teaming up with Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow to push for legislation aimed at preventing the dissemination of evidence in child pornography proceedings.

“The intention of this bill is to protect the victims,” said Manley. “While I firmly believe that the defense has the right to access and analyze all of the evidence, I also think that we have a responsibility to keep the victims in mind. By guaranteeing that the evidence is not inappropriately handled and not distributed outside of law enforcement or court officials, we will be providing that protection.”

Manley’s legislation, modeled after the federal Adam Walsh Act, seeks to makes sure evidence in child pornography cases remains in the secure custody of law enforcement officials and does not make its way in the public domain. The proposal removes the right of the defense to reproduce pornographic evidence while still allowing the defense in a case to review the material.

“This is commonsense legislation that keeps child pornography obtained during the course of criminal investigations securely in the hands of law enforcement agencies,” said State’s Attorney Glasgow. “Furthermore the provisions of this legislation in no way impede the ability of defense attorneys to analyze this highly sensitive evidence as they prepare to defend their clients in criminal proceedings.”