Jim Patterson Fighting Sex Tourism in the Philipppines.

August 25, 2016 Mr. James Patterson San Francisco, California 94107 Dear Mr. Patterson: Thank you for contacting me regarding your opposition to sex tourism crimes.  I appreciate the time you took to write, and I welcome the opportunity to respond. As you may know, on February 9, 2016, a federal grand jury indicted Michael Lindsay for traveling to the Philippines to have sex with a 13-year-old girl in May and August of 2012.  Mr. Lindsay was arrested by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents on November 8, 2012.  On August 3, 2016, Mr. Lindsay was sentenced to eight years in prison for engaging in sexual illicit conduct while traveling, obstruction of justice, and attempted witness tampering.  A federal judge also ordered that Mr. Lindsay have a five-year supervised release after his prison sentence.   I share your outrage at the practice of sex tourism, especially when the victims are children.  During my tenure in the Senate, I have worked hard to introduce and support legislation to protect children from sexual predators and abusers.  For example, on April 30, 2003, President Bush signed into law the Protect Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-21), which was enacted to help prevent child abuse and prosecute violent crimes against children.  Specifically, this law increased sentences for certain child abduction and sex offenses, such as sex tourism. I further understand that you believe DHS permitted Mr. Lindsay to continue to travel to the Philippines for sex tourism after his arrest in November 2012.  To clarify, Mr. Lindsay has been held in custody since his arrest in 2012, and was not permitted to travel to the Philippines after his arrest.  Mr. Lindsay’s arrest was carried out by DHS’s Operation Predator, which is an international initiative to catch individuals who commit certain sex offenses against children, including sex tourism.  Other crimes that Operation Predator investigates include child pornography and sex trafficking of children.  In Fiscal Year 2014, over 2,000 individuals were arrested under Operation Predator. Please be assured that I have carefully noted your thoughts on this matter, and I will keep your views in mind should related legislation come before me in the Senate. Once again, thank you for writing.  I hope that you will continue to keep me informed about issues of importance to you.  Should you have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C., office at (202) 224-3841 or visit my website at www.feinstein.senate.gov.  Best regards. Sincerely,       Dianne Feinstein                  United States Senator DF:mh Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the nation are available at my website,Feinstein.senate.gov. And please visit my YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for more ways to communicate with me. Jim Patterson Note: Fighting sex tourism is long and difficult work especially in California where the Adult industry has huge political influence. Still, we are able to find partners and fight effectively. We are also working on addiction and treatment for adults addicted to porn.