Molly Beck
MADISON - The sexual grooming of children would be a felony crime in Wisconsin under a new bill from Republican lawmakers.
The proposal comes as State Superintendent Jill Underly is under scrutiny over how the state education department handles allegations of grooming and sexual misconduct by licensed school staff.
The focus comes after the Capital Times reported on 200 cases of such incidents since 2018, including instances of teachers who were able to later reapply for a license.
The details of the cases were not proactively made public beyond being made available for review for anyone who files a request under the state's public records law.
A new bill authored by Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, and Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, defines grooming in state law — a move law enforcement, Gov. Tony Evers and Department of Public Instruction officials have said would help to go after culprits.
"As a mom, I know the extent of trust that parents place in the people who care for their children," Nedweski said in a statement. "When that trust is betrayed and those adults prey on our children’s innocence, the consequences should be severe and certain."
The proposal bans anyone from engaging in "a course of conduct, pattern of behavior, or series of acts with the intention to condition, seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child" for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse or sexual contact, or to create and distribute child pornography. The draft bill provides examples of such behavior that could constitute grooming, including "verbal comments, suggestions, or conversations of a sexual nature," "inappropriate or sexualized physical contact," or "written, electronic, or digital communications" aimed at seducing, soliciting, luring, enticing or isolating a child.
If convicted, a person could face between 10 and 25 years in prison, depending on who the person is to the child and whether the child has a disability, among other factors that could increase penalties. Those convicted of grooming would be required to register with the Department of Corrections as a sex offender.
According to an analysis from the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau, the crime does not apply to a person who is 18 or under if it involves a child who is not more than four years younger than the person unless theviolation involves force, coercion, or abuse of a position of trust or authority over the child.
James, a Cadott police officer, said the stories detailed in the Capital Times story prompted him to pursue the legislation.
"While I am proud to join my colleagues in authoring this bill, I am disgusted by the stories that have made legislation like this so necessary," he said.
Since the Capital Times story was published last month, Republican lawmakers have called on Underly to overhaul the DPI's approach to investigating teacher licensing to be more transparent. One Republican candidate for governor called on Underly to resign.
Underly has disputed some of the reporting and has asked the publication for a public correction.
Lawmakers on Oct. 23 held a public hearing in the state Capitol to hear testimony from Kenosha law enforcement officials about their experience with investigating such situations and to question DPI officials about their actions to keep dangerous teachers away from children.
Members of the committee from both political parties criticized Underly for choosing to accept an alumni award at Indiana University instead of appearing before the committee to answer questions about student safety for the public that have arisen because of the Capital Times reporting.
Chris Bucher, a spokesman for DPI, said in response to the criticism that Underly "takes the responsibility of protecting Wisconsin students seriously."
"She is willing to discuss licensing processes that protect students and to engage in constructive discussions on how to strengthen those protections further," Bucher said at the time.
Bucher did not immediately say whether Underly supported the new bill. A spokeswoman for Evers did not immediately say whether he would sign the proposal into law.
On Oct. 28, Evers told reporters a bill to define grooming in state law would help to deter offenders.
"(If) they come up with a way to define grooming that gives lawmakers or gives police officers and local people a way to (address it)? Well, that would be a huge thing," Evers said. "I don't think it exists in many places in the country, so we'll just continue to do the best we can to make sure that kids are taken care of. But this issue is really difficult because there's no really good definition of what's grooming, and that's the basis of it."
The proposal is being circulated among lawmakers for co-sponsorship and has not yet been formally introduced.
Nedweski and state Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Birchwood, also have drafted a second proposal that would require school boards to develop policies on appropriate communication between students and school staff or school volunteers during the school day or outside of school hours.
Laura Schulte of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
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