(The Center Square) – Before children are sexually abused, they are “groomed,” according to a state law under consideration in Tennessee that would make grooming a felony.
Grooming has a lengthy definition in House Bill 1217 as someone who, “knowingly communicates, solicits, or interacts with a minor or mentally compromised individual with the intent to commit, facilitate, or encourage sexual contact, simulated sexual contact, or sexual exploitation of the minor or mentally compromised by any means, including electronic communication.”
The bill, sponsored by Dickson Republican Jody Barrett, creates a felony for grooming with penalties of up to six years in prison and a $3,000 fine. The penalties are stiffer if the victim is under the age of 13 or is mentally compromised. Offenders with a record that includes violent crimes who are in a position of trust could also receive more prison time.
Hope Beryl-Green testified Wednesday before the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee about the bill. She is named as a victim in the Epstein files, she told the committee.
“Grooming is the doorway that predators use to gain control over children before the abuse and trafficking happens,” Beryl-Green said. “It is calculated, patient and deeply psychological. In essence, it’s a form of mind control. As a survivor, I stand before you today, asking you to close the gaps that predators rely on.”
Grooming is a crime in 18 other states, according to the Enough Abuse website. Arkansas was the first state to pass a grooming law in 2013. Kentucky is also considering a bill that would make grooming a felony.
Tennessee law addresses the later stages of sexual grooming that include solicitation and showing offensive sexual material to a minor, Barrett said.
“However existing law does not address preparatory stages of grooming, specifically the deliberate pattern of access seeking isolation, inappropropriate physical boundary violations and secrecy cultivation that the scientific literature identifies as precursors to contact offenses and that may not aries to the level of conduct already criminalized under existing statutes,” Barrett said.
The subcommittee voted unanimously to send the bill to the full House Judiciary Committee. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill this week and referred it to the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee.
