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Senate panel advances bill to treat targeting of persons posing as minors as dangerous crime against children
Summary
The Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee voted to give Senate Bill 1585 a due-pass recommendation after sponsors and a county attorney said the measure fixes a court-created loophole by making the perpetrator's intent to target a minor the operative element.
The Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee gave Senate Bill 15-85 a due-pass recommendation on Feb. 17, 2025, moving a measure that would expand the statutory definition of “dangerous crimes against children” to include acts committed against a person the defendant believed to be a minor under 15 years old.
The bill’s sponsor told the committee the measure is a “cleanup” to existing dangerous-crimes-against-children law that would permit prosecutors to charge offenders who knowingly target someone they believe to be a child — for example, an undercover officer posing as a 12-year-old. “The absence of a minor does not lessen the crime that is being committed,” the sponsor said.
Brad Miller, Pinal County Attorney, testified in support and detailed sting operations run with local law enforcement. Miller said a recent Court of Appeals opinion narrowed prosecutorial options and left some luring cases out of the dangerous-crimes-against-children statute. He described examples in which suspects expressed intent to exploit prepubescent children and said current classifications in some cases leave predators eligible for probation rather than prison.
Committee staff described a pending amendment that removes a separate reclassification of a related abuse offense and narrows the bill to focus on the definition of dangerous crimes against children. After brief committee discussion and one public speaker, members adopted the amendment and voted to recommend the bill.
Committee minutes show the bill passed the committee on a recorded vote: 6 ayes, 0 no, 1 not voting; the committee formally reported SB 15-85 with a due-pass recommendation.
Supporters said the bill clarifies the law so prosecutions reflect the perpetrator’s intent rather than the actual age of the person encountered in a sting; opponents raised no recorded legal objections in committee testimony. The committee adopted the sponsor’s amendment removing the separate reclassification that had been in an earlier draft.
If enacted, the change would let prosecutors pursue dangerous-crimes-against-children charges when defendants knowingly target someone they believe to be under 15, regardless of whether the target is an undercover officer or a real minor.
