Survivor tells Minnesota House panel grooming 'is abuse on its own'; committee refers bill to Children and Families

Representative Mary Bennett moved House File 3489 and an amendment to the bill before the House Public Safety Committee on March 11, 2026. The measure would create a criminal offense for grooming in school settings and add statutory penalties. The committee adopted the amendment with a cross-reference to the bill's grooming definition and referred the measure to the Children and Families Committee.

"Grooming is not a precursor to abuse — it is abuse on its own," testified survivor Hannah LopeResto, who told the committee the teacher who groomed and later assaulted her used isolation, manipulation and religious control over several years. "Establishing the grooming of children as a felony can prevent this abuse from escalating to sexual assault and it recognizes that grooming alone causes substantial harm to a child," she said.

Detective Chad Closs of the Egan Police Department, who investigated the case LopeResto described, told the panel the investigation revealed a pattern of deceptive behaviors used to manipulate multiple students. He said existing Minnesota law left gaps that allowed the alleged perpetrator to avoid criminal accountability and that a standalone grooming statute would allow earlier intervention. "Waiting until physical violence occurs allows more harm," Closs said.

Nonpartisan staff told the committee that the public-safety portion of the bill begins on Page 7, with Section 8 defining "pattern," Section 9 creating the offense and Section 10 establishing felony penalties for certain conduct tied to school employees and contractors. Committee members sought and received a commitment to add a cross-reference in the amendment to make clear which grooming definition applies.

Representative Bennett, who identified herself as having had a similar experience in high school and said she supported the change personally, thanked the testifiers and asked the committee to move the bill forward. The committee adopted the amendment and the motion to refer HF 3489, as amended, to the Children and Families Committee by voice vote.

The bill will next be considered in the Children and Families Committee, where members will see the fuller policy package and the education-related elements that Representative Bennett said developed through stakeholder input.