Unfortunately, child sexual abuse cases are rampant in our communities despite the relentless effort by police officers and prosecutors to curb this offense. When you pay attention, you will notice that in the majority of these child abuse cases, sexual grooming occurs before the abuse.
Sexual grooming is typically a manipulative process that sexual predators use to prepare their targeted victims before the abuse. Understanding seductive sexual grooming and common behaviors that perpetrators have is crucial to helping experts and law enforcement officers prevent this immoral behavior.
Evidence of sexual grooming can come into play to strengthen your child's sexual abuse case if eyewitness testimonies are unclear. Read on for everything you need to know about sexual grooming in children and how to detect manipulative behaviors in possible perpetrators who could be anyone you trust, including your child's teacher or counselor.
Sexual Grooming at a Glance
Contrary to common belief, most child molesters or abusers are not random people that they meet on the street. In most instances, they are individuals who are close to the minor in some way, for example, a teacher or a relative. As a result, pedophiles groom minors, using their trusted relationship and position of authority to sexually abuse them.
Sexual grooming is a manipulative method that perpetrators use to create a trustworthy relationship with a minor and the adults around him/her, including his/her parents, with the criminal intent of sexually exploiting the child. While it is not common, sexual offenders can also use physical violence and threats to sexually assault or abuse children.
Generally speaking, most child abusers prefer using subtle approaches like grooming to earn the trust of a child and the adults around him/her. Emotional manipulation, gifting, and attention are some of the tactics that these perpetrators use to establish a forceful sense of security with the minor and his/her parents or caretakers.
While sexual predators will use these manipulative strategies mostly on younger children, even teens and adults could be at risk.
Various Settings Where Sexual Grooming Can Occur
Sexual grooming can take place in numerous settings, both offline and online. Below are common settings or contexts where sexual grooming could occur:
Schools and Educational Settings
Unfortunately, sexual grooming could occur in settings where you expect your children to be safe, including schools. In educational settings like schools, some of the possible perpetrators include staff members, teachers, and fellow students.
Online Platforms
It is also common for grooming to occur in virtual or online spaces, like chat rooms, social media, messaging apps, and gaming platforms. Perpetrators often exploit the anonymity that the Internet provides to target and sexually groom potential victims.
Workplaces
In situations where adults have access to minors, like volunteer positions, sexual grooming can occur.
Family Settings
Sadly, sexual grooming can occur even within your family circle, involving family friends, cousins, and other relatives.
Public Spaces
While it is rare, sexual grooming can occur even in the places you least expect, including public spaces like malls, recreational areas, and parks where adults interact with minors.
Stages of Sexual Grooming
Most often, perpetrators go through various stages before they groom a minor to commit a sexual act. While there is no accepted or specific way of grooming, most sexual perpetrators with the intent to groom a child have a common behavior pattern they use to manipulate minors to commit sexual acts. Below is the common behavior pattern that sexual predators use to groom children:
Victim Selection
The first stage of sexual grooming is targeting and selecting the victim. A sexual perpetrator will carefully choose his/her victim, selecting the most vulnerable one. In most cases, they will target children with low self-esteem or those who are likely to trust people in authority positions.
Access and Isolation
Once a sexual perpetrator develops a secure level of trust with the child, making the child need him/her, he/she will begin to isolate the minor to have alone time with him/her. Car rides, dates, and walks are some of the ways a sexual predator uses to isolate a child with the criminal intent of sexually abusing him/her.
Keeping Secrets and Trust Development
Although for some perpetrators, especially family members and teachers, trust is inherent, others must develop trust with the minor when he/she is sexually grooming him/her. They can do that by encouraging the minor to share their secrets and promising the child that their secrets will not land anyone else's ears, including their parents.
Desensitization to Sexual Touches
Once the minor feels safe with the minor, he/she will begin to normalize sexual conduct with the child, like hugging or tickling.
Sexual Grooming
When sexual contact begins, the perpetrator will continue to normalize these behaviors and ensure the minor keeps it a secret.
The Sole Purpose of Sexual Grooming
While every perpetrator has his/her agenda, below are some of the primary reasons that motivate most sexual offenders to groom children:
Sexual Exploitation
In many cases, sexual perpetrators groom their targets (often children) with the criminal intent of exploiting them sexually.
Avoiding Detection
Sexual perpetrators will often do their best to avoid detection by gradually introducing sexual behaviors to the child and creating a false display of normalcy, allowing them to carry out their motives without detection.
Lessen the Chances of the Minor Being Believed When he/she Decides to Disclose the Relationship
Grooming lessens the odds of the minor being believed when he/she decides to disclose the sexual abuse or relationship with the perpetrator.
Power and Dominance
Some perpetrators groom their targets with the intent of showing the power and dominance they have over them. By exploiting a child's vulnerability and creating dependency, a sexual offender creates a dynamic where the child feels powerless and helpless to resist certain sexual conduct.
Emotional Gratification
As weird as it seems, some perpetrators enjoy and experience sexual gratification from the grooming or manipulation itself.
Common Grooming Behaviors You Ought to Know
The key to having a proper understanding of the sexual grooming concept is to understand common behaviors that perpetrators use when grooming victims of sexual abuse. Some of these behaviors include (but are not limited to) the following:
- An adult becoming fixated on a minor.
- An adult showing particular suggestive interest in a child.
- Gifting a minor often.
- Displaying favoritism towards the targeted child in the family or class.
- Giving exceptional privileges to the targeted child, for instance, by offering rides wherever the minor wants to go.
- The adult is extremely excited when the adult (perpetrator) is around.
- An adult displaying his/her gender and age preferences when dating.
- An adult who often initiates moments to be alone with the child.
- An adult caring for a child's interests now and then.
Other behaviors sexual perpetrators use when grooming a minor are performing an activity(s) that can be arousing to an adult with a sexual interest in the child. Examples of these behaviors include:
- Deliberately and intentionally walking on a child when he/she is dressing.
- Bathing a child.
- Deliberately and intentionally walking on a child when he/she is toileting.
- Having sexually explicit stories with the minor while pretending to be an educator.
- Showing sexually explicit videos or pictures to the child.
- Playing sexual games that involve the touching of sexual areas or genitalia.
- Taking pictures and videos of the child while naked or wearing underwear or a bathing suit.
- Making sexually explicit jokes with the child.
Understanding sexual grooming and suspicious behaviors that can tell you someone is a groomer is crucial from a sociological and psychological perspective to prevent or curb child sexual abuse cases. It is worth noting that sexual grooming could qualify as a stand-alone offense, depending on the context of your case.
Coercion and Enticement of Minors Offense Under Section 2422 of the Criminal Code
According to Section 2422 of the Criminal Code, it is illegal to use interstate commerce or the Internet to entice, coerce, or induce a minor (someone under the age of 18) to commit a sexual activity, like prostitution.
One of the main reasons for the enactment of this law is to prevent sexual exploitation and grooming of children. You would be guilty of the crime of coercion and enticement of minors under Section 2422(b), even if you did not have the criminal intent to sexually abuse the child.
You would be guilty under this statute if the prosecutor can prove that you attempted to coerce or induce a child to engage in unlawful sexual activity. To prove that you are guilty of Section 2422(b), the prosecutor must prove the following elements of the crime:
- You used phone, Internet, mail, or interstate means to communicate with or reach out to the involved minor.
- You convinced or persuaded the child to engage in an unlawful sexual activity.
- The child was under the age of eighteen (18) years.
- You were aware the child was under the age of eighteen (18) years.
Penalties for a Conviction Under Section 2422
A conviction under Section 2422 of the Criminal Code can attract severe and life-altering consequences, including:
- Up to twenty (20) years of jail time.
- A fine amounting to up to $250,000.
- Serve probation for up to five (5) years or for life.
- Inclusion in the sex offender registry.
- Pay restitution to the victim.
Although the judge has the leeway to lower the jail sentence, depending on the facts of your case, it cannot be lower than ten (10) years. In addition to these grave penalties, a conviction can attract the following detrimental consequences even after serving your sentence:
- Challenges qualifying for admission to a college or university.
- Challenges finding a landlord who will trust you with his/her apartment when looking for a place to live.
- Challenges qualifying for a reliable job.
- Loss of professional license, especially if you are a teacher.
- Deportation if you are a non-citizen.
Defenses to Challenge Charges Under Section 2422 of the Criminal Code
While any criminal allegations where a minor is a victim are generally serious in the eyes of the law, the prosecutor can use various legal defenses to challenge the allegations you are up against. Some of these defenses include the following:
- You did entice or induce the minor to commit sexual activity knowingly.
- The victim willfully participated in the sexual activity in question without your persuasion or consultation.
- The alleged victim is not a minor.
- You are a victim of police entrapment.
- The prosecutor's evidence against you is insufficient and cannot satisfactorily prove the allegations are true beyond a reasonable doubt.
Other Related Laws That Illegalize Sexual Grooming
Several laws are in place to protect our children from sexual abuse and assault. Aside from Section 2422 of the Criminal Code (U.S.C.), several other laws under the Penal Code criminalize sexual grooming and exploitation of children. Some of these laws include:
Penal Code (PC) 288.3
According to PC 288.3, it is a crime to communicate with or contact a person you know is under the age of eighteen years with the criminal intent to commit a sex crime or any other grave felony with him/her. Since it is a felony, a PC 288.3 violation conviction could carry harsh penalties, including:
- A jail sentence.
- A fine of not more than $10,000.
- Felony probation.
- Inclusion in the sex offender registry.
If you have a past PC 288.3 violation conviction record, you will receive an additional and consecutive five (5) years of jail time upon a subsequent conviction under this statute.
Penal Code 288.2
PC 288.2 makes it unlawful to distribute, exhibit, or send obscene or sexually explicit material to a minor with the criminal intent to arouse or engage in sexual intercourse with a minor. A PC 288.2 violation conviction could attract felony or misdemeanor penalties because it is a wobbler offense.
If you are guilty of a felony 288.2 violation, your sentence could include a jail time of up to three (3) years and a fine not exceeding $10,000. However, if your offense is a misdemeanor, your sentence upon conviction will be lenient, including:
- Detention in the county jail for not more than one (1) year.
- A fine amounting to up to $1,000.
- Misdemeanor probation.
- Inclusion in the sex offender registry.
Penal Code 288
According to PC 288, it is illegal to commit lascivious or lewd acts with a minor. Also known as child molestation, the offense of lewd acts with a child is chargeable and punishable as a felony. Here are a few examples of acts that could qualify as lewd acts with a child:
- Daniel places his hand on his 13-year-old stepdaughter's crotch.
- Fred, a 5th-grade teacher, touches her student on the breast through her clothes.
- Nicholas, a youth leader, touches one of the youth members on her buttocks.
The sentence you should expect upon conviction will depend on the following factors:
- The child's age.
- Whether you forced or threatened the minor.
- Your criminal record.
If none of these aggravating factors are present in your unique case, your sentence upon a PC 288 violation conviction is:
- A fine not exceeding $10,000.
- Up to eight (8) years of jail sentence.
- Felony probation.
Bottom Line
Laws that protect children against sexual exploitation and grooming are strict to discourage people from engaging in this egregious behavior, which is understandable. However, if it is you or a loved one who is behind bars or under investigation as a culprit in a sexual crime involving sexual grooming, contacting a defense attorney is a brilliant idea.
Ensure the attorney you decide to work with is qualified, experienced, reputable, credible, cost-friendly, and licensed for the best legal representation you deserve during these intimidating and never-wracking times. With proper legal representation, you could obtain an acquittal of the charges you are up against or a lighter sentence, including probation.
When the court awards you probation, you will not serve your sentence behind bars, but you will have to comply with specific strict terms and conditions, including (but not limited to) the following:
- Pay restitution.
- Perform community services.
- stay crime-free.
- submit to frequent drug and alcohol testing.
- House arrest.
Find a Defense Attorney Near Me
Undoubtedly, being arrested as a suspect in a sexual-related crime can be an emotional and stressful experience, but you have options. If you are under arrest or investigation for a sexual crime that involves sexual grooming, you should speak with an attorney. That is particularly important if the victim in question is a minor because a conviction can have life-changing consequences.
Having a dedicated attorney in your corner during these challenging moments is the key to increasing your odds of securing a desirable outcome. At California Criminal Lawyer Group, we can intervene and offer you thorough and aggressive legal representation to place you in a better position to secure a desirable outcome.
We invite you to call us at 408-622-0204 and let our reliable defense attorneys do their best to help you obtain a less severe charge or acquittal of the entire charge, wherever you are in San Jose.
