Rep. Marianne Proctor. Kentucky Lantern
By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Legislation hoping to define sexual grooming and criminalize it received bipartisan support from members of the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary.
Republican State Representative Marianne Proctor presented the draft legislation to committee members saying the goal of her bill would be to define what a “groomer” is, as there is no Kentucky law that has a definition or criminalizes that behavior.
“It has become an increasing problem,” Proctor said.
A person is guilty of grooming when they “engage in behavior…directed at a minor who is under 14 years old with the intent to entice, coerce, solicit, or prepare the minor to engage in sexual conduct with the person or another person,” according to the draft legislation.
The legislation makes grooming a class A misdemeanor unless the minor is under 12 years of age, in which case it would be a class D felony. If the potential groomer is “a person in a position of authority or…special trust” then it starts out as a class D felony and becomes a class C felony if the minor is 12 years old or younger.
Lawmakers often debate possible legislation in the interim ahead of the next legislative session, starting in January. Other states that have passed recent laws banning grooming of a minor include Ohio and Louisiana.
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