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Kentucky House passes bill defining and criminalizing 'grooming' with amended exceptions
Summary
The Kentucky House passed House Bill 4 after adopting a floor amendment that makes technical edits and expands lawful exceptions to include siblings and volunteers; the measure defines 'grooming' and sets tiered criminal penalties, passing 98–0.
The Kentucky House of Representatives passed House Bill 4, a measure that defines and criminalizes "grooming," after adopting a technical floor amendment and approving the bill by a recorded vote of 98–0.
The sponsor, identified in the transcript as the 'lady from Boone 60,' said the bill "takes important steps to protect Kentuckians by clearly defining and grooming and criminalizing the dangerous and predatory behavior commonly known as grooming." She described grooming as "a calculated, manipulative, deceptive process in which a predator intentionally built a relationship with a vulnerable individual, most often a child, in order to gain trust, access, and ultimately, to exploit or abuse the victim." The sponsor moved for the bill's passage after the House adopted House floor amendment 2.
House floor amendment 2, presented by the member identified as the general from Kenton (Kenton 69), was described in the chamber as making "a couple of small technical changes" including replacing the word "prepare" with "induce" in two places and expanding statutory exceptions to allow siblings and certain volunteers to communicate with minors for lawful or job-related purposes. The amendment was adopted without recorded opposition.
On penalties, the sponsor outlined tiered classifications included in the bill: grooming is a class A misdemeanor when the perpetrator is 18 or older and the victim is under 14; the offense rises to a class D felony if the victim is under 12; and the bill recognizes heightened penalties when the offender holds a position of authority such as a teacher or coach, in which the transcript states grooming "becomes a class d felony when the victim is 18 and a class c felony when the victim is 12." Supporters in debate reiterated the measure's intent to provide earlier intervention and stronger accountability for predatory behavior.
The clerk opened the roll call after floor discussion and recorded 98 members voting "aye" and no members voting "nay," after which the presiding officer announced that House Bill 4, as amended, had passed. Following the vote, the House moved on to other business and routine announcements.
The measure was advanced to whatever subsequent steps follow a successful House passage; the transcript does not specify the bill's next procedural date or action in the Senate.
