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