- The grooming bill was requested by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.
Mississippi lawmakers have passed legislation that creates the crime of grooming of a child and set penalties for those convicted of violating the law.
The bill – HB 1308 – states that a person over the age of 21 commits the offense of grooming of a child when they knowingly engage in a pattern of conduct or communication in person, through a third party, through text messages or social media, or by other means to gain access to, to persuade or to coerce a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct or human trafficking or to procure the sexual servitude of a child. A child is defined as being under 16 years of age.
Under the legislation, grooming would be a felony with penalties ranging from two to ten years in prison and a fine of no more than $10,000.
If a person over 18 years of age in authority or trust is convicted of grooming, the sentence could range from five to ten years, with a fine upwards of $20,000. The bill lists positions of trust to include a child’s teacher, counselor, physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, minister, priest, physical therapist, chiropractor, legal guardian, parent, stepparent, aunt, uncle, scout leader, or coach.
During Senate debate on the measure, State Senator David Jordan (D), a retired educator, was worried the bill would hinder teachers from complimenting their students on performance. State Senator Joey Fillingane (R) said the bill does not stop teachers from complimenting students appropriately.
Some senators thought the legislation was watered down, as persons convicted of grooming would not be required to register as a sex offender. Fillingane pushed back on that claim.
“We [Judiciary B Committee] didn’t think it was appropriate for someone to be placed on the registry when they didn’t have sex,” he explained. “I don’t think we watered it down. It’s appropriate.”
The bill does state that any person who commits a subsequent offense under this law or any person that is a sex offender with a duty to register who commits an initial offense will be guilty of a felony. Upon conviction, that person would face prison for not less than ten years nor more than twenty years, or fined not more than $30,000, or both.
The grooming bill was requested by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office after a Jackson area parent viewed “very suggestive, tawdry” messages between their child and a teacher, Fillingane explained.
“There were very long, robust, in-depth debates,” Fillingane said of the talks between the AG’s office and lawmakers.
The conference report on the legislation passed unanimously in the Senate and only drew three votes in opposition in the House.
Governor Tate Reeves (R) will now decide whether to sign the measure into law or allow it to take effect and become law on July 1 without his signature.
Daniel Tyson
