A child’s protection from grooming and abuse shouldn’t depend on geography

“I wish I would have said something. I had a bad feeling.”

These are often the words of concerned adults after a case of child sexual abuse is finally exposed. They point to the devastating truth that a child’s victimization might have been prevented if someone had intervened the moment they sensed something was wrong.

That uneasy feeling is often one of the earliest signs that a child is being groomed. Grooming is a well-documented pattern of behavior that frequently precedes sexual abuse. Its criminalization should written into federal law, not left to a patchwork of state statutes. A federal standard would establish clear, consistent protections, ensuring children’s safety does not depend on geography.

Predators do not operate within neat boundaries, and our laws should not assume they do.

Grooming is not a vague or theoretical concept. It is a deliberate process used by adult predators to gain access to children, build trust and erode boundaries over time. To a child being groomed, it rarely feels dangerous at first. It can feel like attention, validation or being singled out in a way that feels positive or rewarding.

Predators often target vulnerability, exploiting emotional needs a child may not yet have the capacity to recognize or understand.

To surrounding adults, however, those same behaviors often register differently when observed from the outside. A relationship may seem inappropriately close, marked by excessive........

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