In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation establishing a dedicated offense within the Crimes Code to target adults who exploit positions of authority and trust to groom minors in their care.

While Pennsylvania law provides clear criminal penalties for physical sexual offenses and unlawful contact with a minor, our Crimes Code contains a significant statutory blind spot: it lacks an actionable mechanism to address the inchoate crime of grooming before harmful physical contact or explicit solicitation occurs.

The legislative gap this bill fixes is not stranger solicitation, but the abuse of trust and authority where a predator uses a position of power to build a secretive, intimate relationship with a minor under the guise of innocent interaction.

Predators systematically dismantle boundaries, isolate minors from their families, and normalize inappropriate intimacy long before an overt physical crime takes place. Under current law, law enforcement and prosecutors are frequently forced to wait until physical harm occurs before they can intervene.

This legislation bridges that gap by establishing the offense of Grooming of a Minor. The bill criminalizes intentional courses of conduct directed at minors to entice prohibited sexual conduct, specifically penalizing individuals responsible for a child's welfare who cultivate secretive or intimate relationships. To protect legitimate authority figures, the draft includes explicit safe harbors for ordinary, transparent interactions incidental to educational, athletic, religious, or professional roles.

Our laws must evolve to protect children from predators who exploit their authority. By criminalizing the deliberate, pre-assault course of conduct that defines grooming, we give law enforcement, school administrators, and families the statutory tool needed to intervene early and prevent abuse.

I invite you to join me in co-sponsoring this vital piece of child protection legislation.