Sex Tourism

United States v. Weingarten, 632 F.3d 60 (2d Cir. 2011)

The sex tourism statute, 18 U.S.C. §2423, does not make it a crime to travel between two foreign countries with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. There must be some territorial nexus to the United States.

United States v. Jackson, 480 F.3d 1014 (9th Cir. 2007)

In 2001, the defendant moved to Thailand. In 2003, Congress made it a crime to travel in interstate commerce and engage in illicit sexual conduct. 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c) (commonly known as the PROTECT Act). Though the Ninth Circuit previously upheld the constitutionality of this provision, United States v. Clark, 435 F.3d 1100 (9th Cir. 2006), the question in this case is whether a person can be prosecuted if his travel occurred prior to passage of the Act, but his sexual misconduct occurred after passage of the act. The Ninth Circuit concludes that the Act does not criminalize the defendant’s conduct.