H.R. 7702 — Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act

This section revises penalties under 18 U.S.C. §2244 (abusive sexual contact, i.e., intentional touching of another person's genitalia or anus or causing another to touch the perpetrator's, without consent or under specified circumstances) to authorize the death penalty as follows: (1) in subsection (a)(3), to death or life imprisonment (from not more than two years) for contact that would violate §2243(a) (sexual abuse of a minor) if a sexual act; (2) in subsection (a)(5), to death or life imprisonment (from any term of years or life) for contact that would violate §2241(c) (aggravated sexual abuse of a child under age 12) if a sexual act; and (3) in subsection (c), removing the exclusion for (a)(5) and setting the maximum for offenses against victims under age 12 at death or life imprisonment (previously twice the otherwise applicable maximum term of imprisonment).

This section includes a severability clause, providing that if any provision of the Act or its amendments, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and its applications to other persons or circumstances remain unaffected.