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To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Owen
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 1294
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-5-32, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
REVISE THE AGE FOR THE CRIMES OF CHILD GROOMING AND SEXUAL BATTERY 2
OF A CHILD FOR PERSONS IN A POSITION OF TRUST; AND FOR RELATED 3
PURPOSES. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 5
SECTION 1. Section 97-5-32, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 6
amended as follows: 7
97-5-32. (1) As used in this section, the following terms 8
shall have the meanings herein ascribed: 9
(a) "Electronic device" means any device used for the 10
purpose of communicating with a child for sexual purposes or any 11
device used to visually depict a child engaged in sexually 12
explicit conduct, store any image or audio of a child engaged in 13
sexually explicit conduct, or transmit any audio or visual image 14
of a child for sexual purposes. Such term may include, but shall 15
not be limited to, a computer, cellular phone, thumb drive, video 16
game system, or any other electronic device that can be used in 17
furtherance of exploiting a child for sexual purposes. 18
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(b) "Pattern of conduct or communication" means a 19
pattern of conduct or communication that would cause a reasonable 20
adult person to believe that the person is communicating with a 21
child with the purpose to entice, coerce, solicit, or prepare a 22
child to engage in sexually explicit conduct, human trafficking, 23
or sexual servitude. 24
(c) "Human trafficking" means that term as defined in 25
Section 97-3-54.1. 26
(d) "Sexually explicit conduct" means that term as 27
defined in Section 97-5-31(b). 28
(e) "Procure sexual servitude of a child" means 29
knowingly subjecting, or attempting to subject, or recruiting, 30
enticing, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining by any 31
means, or attempting to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, 32
provide, or obtain by any means, a child, knowing that the child 33
will engage in commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit 34
performance, or the production of sexually oriented material, or 35
causing or attempting to cause a child to engage in commercial 36
sexual activity, sexually explicit performance, or the production 37
of sexually oriented material. 38
(f) "Child" means a person who is under sixteen (16) 39
years of age for purposes of this section. 40
(2) A person over the age of twenty-one (21) commits the 41
offense of grooming of a child when such person knowingly engages 42
in a pattern of conduct or communication in person; through a 43
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third party; through the use of an electronic device, computer, 44
social media, or text messages; or by any other means to gain 45
access to, to gain the compliance of, to prepare, to persuade, to 46
induce, or to coerce a child to engage in sexually explicit 47
conduct or human trafficking or to procure the sexual servitude of 48
a child. 49
(3) (a) Any person who violates this section shall be 50
guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof, be imprisoned in 51
the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than two 52
(2) years nor more than ten (10) years, or fined not more than Ten 53
Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both. 54
(b) (i) Any person who * * * violates this section 55
while that person was in a position of trust or authority 56
over * * * a child who was under the age of eighteen (18) years 57
old at the time of the offense shall be guilty of a felony, and 58
upon conviction thereof, be imprisoned in the custody of the 59
Department of Corrections for not less than five (5) years nor 60
more than ten (10) years, or fined not more than Twenty Thousand 61
Dollars ($20,000.00), or both. 62
(ii) A person in a position of trust or authority 63
over a child includes, without limitation, a child's teacher, 64
counselor, physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, minister, 65
priest, physical therapist, chiropractor, legal guardian, parent, 66
stepparent, aunt, uncle, scout leader, or coach. 67
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(c) Any person who commits a subsequent offense under 68
this section or any person that is a sex offender with a duty to 69
register under Section 45-33-25 who commits an initial offense 70
under this section shall be guilty of a felony, and upon 71
conviction thereof, be imprisoned in the custody of the Department 72
of Corrections for not less than ten (10) years nor more than 73
twenty (20) years, or fined not more than Thirty Thousand Dollars 74
($30,000.00), or both. 75
(4) The fines under this section shall be collected and 76
deposited into the Victims of Human Trafficking and Commercial 77
Sexual Exploitation Fund pursuant to Section 97-3-54.11. 78
(5) Investigation and prosecution of a defendant under this 79
section does not preclude prosecution of the defendant for a 80
violation of other applicable criminal laws of this state. 81
(6) It shall not be a defense to prosecution under this 82
section that no sexually explicit conduct, human trafficking, or 83
sexual servitude occurred or was accomplished. 84
(7) For the purposes of venue under this section, any 85
violation of this section shall be considered to have been 86
committed: 87
(a) In any county in which any act was performed in 88
furtherance of any violation of this section; or 89
(b) In any county in which the electronic device used 90
to violate this section established a signal, whether by wire, 91
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ST: Grooming; revise age of child when person
is in a position of trust.
electromagnetic waves, electronic connection, or any other means 92
of connectivity or communication; or 93
(c) In any county in which the child is located at the 94
time of the offense of this section. 95
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 96
and after July 1, 2026. 97