Closing Bankruptcy Loopholes for Child Predators Act of 2026

Increased Engagement for Victims: The bill requires courts to hold a conference within 60 days of the claim deadline to consider victim impact statements, intended to increase engagement and understanding between the court and survivors (Section 2, amending section 1109).

Protection of Victim Information: The bill ensures that court orders cannot seal evidence of alleged crimes related to child sexual abuse, except to protect the identity and personal information of the person alleging the abuse (Section 2, amending section 107 and Rule 9018).

Enhanced Financial Oversight: For non-profit organizations (501(c)(3)) involved in these cases, the court must hire an independent forensic accountant to review assets and interests to ensure they are properly included in the estate (Section 2, amending section 541).

Greater Control Over Releases: In specific reorganization cases, a third-party release cannot be approved without the affirmative consent of both the debtor and at least ninety percent of the voting creditors (Section 2, amending section 524(g)(2)(B)).

Timely Claims: Claims relating to the sexual abuse of a child will be considered timely filed regardless of applicable state statutes of limitation (Section 2, amending section 1111).

Prevention of Debt Discharge: Debtors who were directly responsible for or acted with gross negligence regarding the sexual abuse of a minor will not be able to receive a discharge of those specific debts (Section 2, amending section 523(a)(20)).

Restrictions on Evidence Use: To encourage honesty, information provided in victim impact statements cannot be used as evidence by any person in the case (Section 2, amending section 1109).

Increased Requirements for Debtors: In Chapter 11 reorganization cases related to these allegations, debtors are required to attend examinations and produce documents or electronically stored information (Section 3, amending Rule 2004).