For years, survivors, advocates, and child protection experts have said the same thing: grooming is not harmless behavior. It is not simply “crossing boundaries.” Nor poor judgment.
It is often the first step in a deliberate process that predators use to gain access to children.
Now, Minnesota has taken a major step forward. On May 27, 2026, Governor Tim Walz signed legislation making the sexual grooming of a child a felony offense. The law was championed by survivor Hannah LoPresto, whose courage helped expose a dangerous gap in the state’s ability to address predatory behavior before abuse escalates.
This is more than a legal change. It is a recognition of what survivors have always known: grooming causes harm long before physical abuse occurs.
What Is Grooming?
Grooming is a calculated pattern of manipulation used by predators to gain a child’s trust, lower their defenses, and normalize inappropriate behavior.
Grooming often includes:
- Excessive attention or special treatment
- Secret communications
- Gift-giving
- Emotional dependency
- Boundary violations disguised as mentorship
- Isolation from peers, family members, or other trusted adults
- Gradual sexualization of conversations and interactions
Predators rarely begin with overt abuse. They build access, trust, test boundaries, and create confusion.
By the time abuse occurs, many children feel trapped, manipulated, or responsible for the relationship.
Why This Law Matters
Historically, prosecutors have often been forced to wait until conduct crossed a specific legal threshold before charges could be filed.
That creates a dangerous gap.
Parents, educators, coaches, and law enforcement officers frequently recognize grooming behaviors long before a child experiences sexual assault. Yet many states lack criminal statutes specifically addressing the conduct.
Minnesota’s new law acknowledges that grooming itself is a form of victimization and a significant predictor of future abuse.
This approach shifts the focus from reacting after a child has been harmed to intervening before greater harm occurs.
Schools, Youth Programs, and Institutions Must Do Better
As someone who has spent decades advocating for survivors, I can tell you that grooming rarely happens in isolation.
We see it repeatedly in:
- Schools
- Religious organizations
- Youth sports
- Foster care systems
- Camps
- Mentorship programs
- Online platforms
In many cases, other adults noticed concerning behavior but dismissed it as harmless, misunderstood it as friendliness, or failed to report it.
Institutional accountability requires more than background checks. It requires training staff to recognize grooming behaviors and creating cultures where concerns are taken seriously.
Grooming Has Gone Digital
Today’s predators do not need physical access to a child.
They can reach children through:
- Social media
- Gaming platforms
- Messaging apps
- Streaming services
- Online communities
The same grooming tactics apply online. Predators build trust, create emotional connections, encourage secrecy, and gradually escalate inappropriate communications.
Parents must remain engaged and informed about their children’s online lives. Technology companies must also take responsibility for creating safer environments for young users.
A Survivor’s Voice Created Change
One of the most powerful aspects of this legislation is its origin.
This law exists because a survivor refused to stay silent.
Hannah LoPresto’s advocacy helped lawmakers understand that grooming is not merely a warning sign. It is part of the abuse process itself.
Survivors continue to drive some of the most meaningful reforms in child protection law across the country. Their experiences reveal where systems fail and where change is urgently needed.
The Work Is Not Finished
Minnesota’s law represents progress, but it should not be the exception.
Every state should examine whether its laws adequately address grooming behavior and provide tools to intervene before abuse escalates.
Children deserve protection before they are assaulted.
Parents deserve systems that recognize danger when it appears.
Survivors deserve laws that reflect the reality of how abuse actually happens.
Recognizing grooming as a crime is not about criminalizing awkward interactions. It is about identifying patterns of predatory behavior before more children are harmed.
That is prevention.
That is accountability.
And that is long overdue.
Speaking With a Sexual Abuse Lawyer About Your Rights
If you or someone you love experienced grooming, sexual abuse, or exploitation by a teacher, coach, clergy member, youth leader, foster parent, or other trusted adult, you may have a civil case.
Andreozzi + Foote is a civil law firm dedicated to representing survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation nationwide.
We offer free, confidential consultations to help survivors learn about their rights and understand their legal options.
You deserve to be heard, and our attorneys are ready to listen.
Contact us today.
(866) 311-8640