Bill making grooming a felony passes unanimously in Minnesota Senate

A bill to make grooming a crime passed unanimously in the Minnesota Senate Friday morning. 

The bill makes grooming a felony offense, requires licensing boards to be notified if a teacher is charged with grooming and updates training on mandatory reporting. It also allows the Department of Education to investigate grooming for more than the current three-year look-back.

The legislation follows a WCCO investigation, in which Hannah LoPresto shared what she called grooming and sexual assault by her high school band director. 

"Today we have the opportunity to say no more, this is wrong," said DFL Sen. Erin Maye Quade, who brought the bill to the Senate floor. "Mostly I want to thank Hannah and Detective Clauson. They have worked with me so closely. Hannah, thank you for telling your story over and over and over again. For turning something so painful and difficult into meaningful legislation."

The chamber rose with a standing ovation as the bill passed, recognizing Hannah LoPresto and Detective Chad Clausen in the gallery.
 
"I'm just so overwhelmed. And I'm so proud of us and the work that we've done to get here Incredibly grateful, because there's so many people that have helped us," LoPresto said.
 
The moment the board turned green is one LoPresto says she'll remember. Just as it did in the House and in every committee hearing.
 
"Especially to know that so many different people that disagree on many, many things all come together to agree on this one thing is a really beautiful thing to see," LoPresto said.
 
The detective who investigated her case says it feels like their hard work is paying off.
 
"Hannah just did something to protect students from now until the end of time," Clausen said.
 
"This is such an important day for Minnesota kids. They're fundamentally safer, and we're really starting to acknowledge in statute that the way that we set things up have created legal ways for adults to prey on children, and we've closed one of those gaps today," Maye Quade said.

The Minnesota House unanimously passed the bill, authored by Republican Rep. Peggy Bennett, in late April. 

The House still needs to concur and update some of the language in the bill on Saturday before it heads to Gov. Tim Walz's desk for signature.