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Committee unanimously advances bill criminalizing grooming patterns, expands location and employment limits for certain offenders
Summary
Senate Bill 119, which would criminalize repeated or continuous patterns of grooming a child under 14 and add location and employment restrictions for qualifying offenders, passed the committee 8-0 after extensive testimony from prosecutors, advocates, survivors and defenders.
A Senate committee on Thursday advanced a measure that would create a standalone offense for grooming by criminalizing repeated or continuous contact with a child under 14 when the actor is at least 18, and would add location and employment restrictions for certain qualifying offenders.
Senator Durnell, sponsor of Senate Bill 119, said the bill recognizes grooming as a process that precedes physical abuse and enables earlier intervention. He described amendments adopted by consent that tighten mens rea language…
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