Justice for Allie Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Justice for Allie Act creates a new federal crime in title 18. A person violates it by using the mail or an interstate or foreign commerce facility, knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing a protected adult to send or transmit an intimate visual depiction, and acting with intent to harm that adult. Attempted conduct is also covered.
A first offense can produce a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. A second or later offense can produce a fine, imprisonment for up to two years, or both. The bill defines harm broadly to include physical, psychological, financial, or reputational harm.
A protected adult must be at least 18 and unable to protect themselves from abuse, neglect, or exploitation at the time of the offense because of one or more listed conditions. Those conditions include autism spectrum disorder, intellectual developmental disorder or disability, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, major neurocognitive disorder, dementia or Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, or another psychotic disorder. Diagnostic definitions track the then-current DSM or the HHS-adopted ICD.
The offense requires knowledge, prohibited influence, an intimate depiction, intent to harm, protected status, and a commerce nexus. It does not criminalize every consensual intimate image exchange involving a disabled adult, require actual completed harm, create a civil claim, or cover an unlisted vulnerability without one of the statutory diagnoses.
Who Benefits and How
Vulnerable adults gain a specific federal protection against manipulative intimate-image exploitation. Families and disability advocates gain a referral path. Federal investigators and prosecutors gain a tailored offense that covers attempts and several forms of harm.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Offenders face fines and incarceration, with a higher repeat-offense ceiling. Investigators, prosecutors, courts, and defense counsel must litigate knowledge, intent, capacity, diagnosis, and the commerce nexus. Clinical experts may need to assess whether a person could protect themselves at the time, and protected adults may face privacy or stigma when medical conditions and intimate evidence enter court records.
Key Provisions
- Creates a federal protected-adult exploitation offense.
- Prohibits inducement or coercion of intimate-image transmission.
- Covers attempted as well as completed conduct.
- Requires intent to cause physical, psychological, financial, or reputational harm.
- Authorizes up to one year for a first offense.
- Authorizes up to two years for a repeat offense.
- Defines protected adult through age, vulnerability, and listed diagnoses.
- Uses current diagnostic manuals at the time of the offense.
- Preserves required knowledge, intent, and commerce elements.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a federal offense for knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing a vulnerable protected adult through interstate or foreign commerce to transmit an intimate visual depiction with intent to harm, including attempts and enhanced repeat-offense penalties.
Key Policy Areas
Sexual Exploitation, Disability Protection, Federal Criminal Law, Intimate Image Abuse, Interstate Communications
Primary Purpose
Creates a federal offense for knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing a vulnerable protected adult through interstate or foreign commerce to transmit an intimate visual depiction with intent to harm, including attempts and enhanced repeat-offense penalties.
Policy Domains
Section 2 federal offense, penalties, and protected-adult definitions
Identified Gains
- Adults with autism vulnerable to exploitation
- Adults with intellectual disabilities
- Adults with dementia or Alzheimer's disease
- Adults with serious psychotic disorders
- Families of protected adults
- Federal prosecutors handling exploitation cases
- Disability-rights advocacy organizations
Identified Costs
- People inducing harmful intimate depictions
- Repeat offenders facing enhanced imprisonment
- Federal investigators proving protected status
- Federal courts hearing exploitation cases
- Federal public defenders
- Clinical experts evaluating vulnerability
- Protected adults disclosing medical evidence
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Ms. Stevens (for herself and Mrs. Dingell) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Federal courts hearing exploitation cases, Federal criminal investigators, Federal prosecutors handling exploitation cases
Positive-direction: Federal prosecutors handling exploitation cases
Negative-direction: Federal courts hearing exploitation cases, Federal criminal investigators, Federal public defenders
Adults with autism vulnerable to exploitation, Adults with intellectual disabilities, Protected adults whose diagnoses enter evidence
People inducing harmful intimate depictions, Repeat offenders under section 2245A
Clinical experts assessing protected status
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "family"
- → Family member supporting a protected adult
- "offender"
- → Person inducing an intimate depiction with intent to harm
- "clinician"
- → Clinical expert evaluating a listed condition
- "prosecutor"
- → Federal prosecutor enforcing section 2245A
- "protected_adult"
- → Adult unable to self-protect because of a listed condition
Note: {'scope_ids': ['protected_adult_intimate_exploitation'], 'description': 'The offense requires a listed condition, contemporaneous inability to self-protect, knowledge, prohibited influence, an intimate depiction, intent to harm, and a commerce nexus; it does not criminalize all consensual exchanges or create a civil cause of action.'}
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Physical, psychological, financial, or reputational harm intended by the person inducing the intimate depiction.
Knowing persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion through a commerce facility to transmit an intimate visual depiction with intent to harm, including an attempt.
An adult at least 18 who cannot protect themselves from abuse, neglect, or exploitation at the time because of a listed diagnosis.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology