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The Georgia Senate unanimously passed House Bill 993, a bill pushed by Representative Alan Powell now making the grooming of a minor for sex a felony in the State of Georgia.
On Tuesday, March 26, the Georgia Senate unanimously passed House Bill 993, a bill pushed by Representative Alan Powell now making the grooming of a minor for sex a felony in the State of Georgia and punishable with between one to five years of prison time. HB 993 had also unanimously passed through the state House of Representatives on Feb. 22.
The bill amends Title 16 of the Georgia Code (which concerns offenses relating to minors in general), now providing for the offense of grooming a minor “for indecent purposes.” After deliberation over the definition of grooming, the language of the bill now reads that “a person over the age of 18 and no less than 48 months older than the alleged victim commits the offense of grooming a minor when such person knowingly and intentionally engages in a pattern of conduct or communication in person; through a third party; through the use of an electronic device, a computer, social media, or text messages; or any other means to gain access to, to gain the compliance of, to prepare, to persuade, to induce, or to coerce a minor to engage in a sexual offense or trafficking of person for sexual servitude.”
“For 34 years, I didn’t think we had left any stone unturned when it came to predatory sexual behavior, and that would be dealing with minors,” Rep. Powell said before the House on Feb. 22, adding that the bill targets a “pattern of behavior” among perpetrators, not to be confused with someone simply “being nice” to a minor.
As the bill provides for both in-person and online grooming, Rep. Powell also noted that the issue is exacerbated today by social media.
The road to the historic votes on this bill began when Rep. Powell first introduced HB 993 Jan. 23; the bill was read twice before it was sent to the House Juvenile Justice Committee and passed with amendments, then passed through the Rules Committee.
The Juvenile Justice Committee substitute added language stating the law would apply both inside and outside Georgia “if such conduct involves a minor who resides in this state or another person believed by such person to be a minor residing in this state.”
On March 7, Representative Alan Powell spoke on House Bill 993 before the Georgia Senate Committee on Judiciary.
Rep. Powell emphasized that the bill solely prohibited the act of grooming and that it was separate from the crime of child molestation. He also stated that in drafting the bill, he took into account the close-in-age exemptions or “Romeo and Juliet laws,” which determine that generally, a person can legally have consensual sex with a minor as long as the person is not older than the minor by a certain amount of years, usually four.
The committee deliberated about this language, as the legal age of consent in Georgia is 16 but in HB 993, a minor is defined as an individual under 18.
The Senate Judiciary Committee also heard testimony in favor of HB 993 from Susan Cobb, who stated that her daughter had been the victim of grooming and sexual abuse (in-person and through electronics) by her gymnastics coach from the ages of 11 to 20. Cobb also said that her daughter eventually reported being abused, but that the alleged perpetrator was released on bond; she testified that her daughter “was pronounced dead by hanging” days later.
“We want Georgia to stand as the state with the toughest laws…we want to be the state that sets a standard for every state to follow,” said Cobb, who added that she taught her daughter about “stranger danger” but “did not know about the term ‘grooming.’”
“This is not a Republican or Democratic issue…this should be a bipartisan issue,” Cobb said. “This bill is important because it will save lives…and send messages to predators that seek out our children, that if you groom, if you brainwash…you will be held accountable and there is a law in the state of Georgia you will be held accountable with and…be charged with a felony.”
That day, the committee determined they would work on a substitute that would address what constituted a minor for the bill’s purposes. Ultimately, the bill maintained that a minor, for its purposes, is “any person under the age of 18” and the applicable age range for perpetrators remained “over the age of 18 and no less than 48 months older than the alleged victim.” There was a second reading in the committee on March 20 before it was selected for a vote on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon.
Bo Hatchett of District 50, sponsor of the bill in the Senate, presented the bill and said it was “a piece of legislation I’m hoping we can get out of this Chamber unanimously.”
His wish was granted as it once again passed, by substitute, with 53 votes in favor and zero opposed.
As legislative session draws to a close, Powell was happy that it finally passed.
“I’m really pleased,” Powell said. “We started working on this bill a couple of years ago, and making this a crime was really important.”
The bill now awaits the signature of Governor Brian Kemp.