MADISON, Wis. (WRN) — At the Capitol, proposed legislation would define and establish criminal penalties for grooming.
It would define grooming as a “course of conduct, pattern of behavior, or series of acts intended to condition, seduce, or entice a child for the purpose of sexual activity or exploitation.” Examples include sexualized conversations, inappropriate physical contact, digital communications designed to lure a child, and efforts to isolate a child from family or peers.
Republicans, State Representative Amanda Nedweski and Senator Jesse James are circulating the measure, introduced in the wake of a yearlong investigation by the Capitol Times into how the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction investigates and reports allegations of sexual misconduct and grooming by school staff.
State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly is scheduled to address an informational hearing on Sexual Misconduct Allegations in Wisconsin Public Schools before the Senate Education Committee at the Capitol on Tuesday. Underly was a no show for a similar hearing in an Assembly committee last week.