Union Rep. Marianne Proctor’s plan to outlaw sexual grooming of children in KY gains bipartisan support

By McKenna Horsley
Kentucky Lantern

A Kentucky Republican is hoping to define grooming of a child in state law and criminalize it under a proposal she presented this week. 

Rep. Marianne Proctor, of Union, said the goal of her bill would be to define what a “groomer” is, as there is no state law that has a definition or criminalizes that behavior. She presented the idea to members of the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary. 

“It has become an increasing problem,” Proctor said. 

Lawmakers often debate possible legislation in the interim ahead of the next legislative session, starting in January.

A draft version of the legislation says that an adult would be guilty of grooming a minor under the age of 14 if they have “intent to entice, coerce, solicit, or prepare the minor to engage in sexual conduct with the person or another person” or are a person of authority over a minor with such intention. Violating the law would be a Class A misdemeanor, unless the victim is under the age of 12, which would be a Class D felony, with a possible sentence of one to five years in prison. 

Joining Proctor’s presentation was Louis Kelly, the commonwealth’s attorney for Boone and Gallatin counties. He said that many rape cases involve a history of a relationship before escalating into a criminal act.

“What this would do would be to allow us to identify and prosecute and stop this in its tracks before it crosses the line into actually enticing or eliciting sex, or, God forbid, an actual sexual conduct (situation),” Kelly said. 

At present, the bill does have provisions to address people who have to communicate with minors for legitimate purposes and further outlines intent, Kelly said. However, the bill could be refined before the legislative session begins in a few months. 

The legislation got bipartisan support from committee members, but some lawmakers still had questions about how broad and how narrow Proctor’s bill should be. 

Republican Rep. T.J. Roberts, of Burlington, said “protecting our children is one of the highest duties that we have as a legislature” and the bill would do that. However, he said states with similar laws state that someone could be liable for grooming if they believe the victim is a minor even if the victim is over 18.  

House Democratic Whip Rep. Lindsey Burke, of Lexington, said that she views the draft as having narrow definitions but that it could be widened to encompass other possible victims and perpetrators, including some perpetrators younger than 18. She gave an example of a 17-year-old grooming a much younger child and wondered if “we’re going to miss, potentially, very damaging conduct.” 

“We need to do everything we can to ensure that young people are safe when they’re at school, when they’re at home, when they’re in the community, and I do think this bill is going in the right direction,” Burke said. 

Other states that have passed recent laws banning grooming of a minor include Ohio and Louisiana.