House approves ban on sex dolls that resemble children

The House approved a measure this week that would ban the importation of sex dolls and robots that resemble children.

Rep. Dan Donovan’s (R-N.Y.) measure, the Curbing Realistic Exploitative Electronic Pedophilic Robots (Creeper) Act, passed by a voice vote on Wednesday. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.

The bill blocks the importation and transportation of anatomically correct childlike dolls, mannequins or robots “intended for use in sexual acts.”

The figures are shipped from China, Hong Kong and Japan, and are often purchased online by pedophiles, Donovan said in a statement this week.

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“Once an abuser tires of practicing on a doll, it’s a small step to move on to a child,” Donovan said. “My bill takes necessary steps to stop these sickening dolls from reaching our communities.”

The bill says the dolls “normalize submissiveness and normalize sex between adults and minors.”

“Child sex dolls are anatomically accurate renderings of young children, and include ‘accessories’ such as false eyelashes, wigs, warming devices, and cleaning tools,” according to the statement.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said in a statement Wednesday that the concept of the child-like sex dolls makes his stomach turn.

“These dolls can be programmed to simulate rape,” Goodlatte said. “The very thought makes me nauseous.”

Goodlatte said a handful of social scientists argue that child sex dolls may reduce pedophilia and child sexual abuse but there is no scientific evidence to prove that.

“To the contrary, these dolls create a real risk of reinforcing pedophilic behavior and they desensitize the user causing him to engage in sicker and sicker behavior,” Goodlatte said.

The United Kingdom has a similar law to the one proposed by Donovan.

“In fact, of the 128 dolls seized in the UK, 85% percent of the men who imported them were also found in possession of child pornography,” according to a statement from Donovan’s office.

The Supreme Court struck down a law in 2002 that banned “virtual” or computer-generated child pornography.

Supporters of the 1996 federal law argued that computer-generated or fake child porn could encourage pedophiles to commit child sexual abuse, according to The New York Times.

The court, however, ruled that the law suppressed protected speech.