Photo by Anna Ihland, Wisconsin State Legislature.
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin State Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved legislation creating a new felony offense for grooming a child for sexual activity, a gap in state law exposed by the Kenosha County case of former teacher Christian Enwright, who could only be charged with misdemeanors despite years of sexually inappropriate conduct involving a student. The bill, authored by Rep. Amanda Nedweski of Pleasant Prairie, passed on a 93–6 vote and now heads to the state Senate for consideration.
“For far too long, Wisconsin law has failed to adequately protect victims by refusing to call grooming what it is — a deliberate, predatory act that is often the first step toward further sexual abuse,” Nedweski said following the vote. “This bill was inspired by real cases right here in Wisconsin, where adults abused positions of trust, manipulated children over months or years, and ultimately faced little more than misdemeanor charges. That is unacceptable.”
The legislation establishes a specific crime of grooming of a child for sexual activity, defined as a course of conduct, pattern of behavior, or series of acts intended to condition, seduce, lure, or entice a child for the purpose of engaging in sexual contact or sexual intercourse. Under the bill, grooming would be charged as a Class G felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, with enhanced penalties if the offender was in a position of trust over the victim, if there were multiple victims, or if the victim has a disability. By clearly defining grooming in statute, the bill is intended to prevent prosecutors from being forced to rely on lesser charges that fail to reflect the seriousness of the conduct.
Nedweski said the proposal was inspired in part by the Enwright case, in which the former Kenosha-area teacher groomed a then-12-year-old student over two school years, exchanging thousands of messages with the child, many of them sexualized in nature. Despite what prosecutors described as overwhelming evidence of sexually inappropriate conduct, Enwright could only be charged with 22 counts of misdemeanor disorderly conduct and faces at most one year in jail because Wisconsin law lacked a specific grooming offense.
“AB 677 treats grooming as the serious crime that it is, closing the gap in state law and giving prosecutors greater ability to hold predators accountable and give families and victims the justice that they deserve,” Nedweski said. “This bill specifically targets the intentional, calculated, and manipulative behaviors that predators use to exploit our children’s innocence.”
The bill advanced with bipartisan support and backing from prosecutors, victim advocates, and the Department of Public Instruction. Those who testified in favor of the bill included Jesse Simcox, the Wisconsin spokesman for Gays Against Groomers, who urged lawmakers to create a specific felony offense addressing grooming behavior.
Despite the overwhelming margin of passage, six Democratic Assembly members voted against the bill.
Those dissenting votes came from Rep. Angelina Cruz of Racine, who represents the 62nd Assembly District and also serves as president of the Racine Unified School District teachers union; Rep. Angelito Tenorio, who represents the 14th Assembly District in western Milwaukee County; Rep. Ryan Clancy of Milwaukee, who represents the 19th Assembly District; Rep. Francesca Hong of Madison, who represents the 76th Assembly District and is currently running for governor; Rep. Darrin Madison of Milwaukee, who represents the 10th Assembly District; and Rep. Christian Phelps, who represents the 93rd Assembly District in the Eau Claire area, is openly gay, and previously worked in schools.
Nedweski represents the 32nd Assembly District, which includes Pleasant Prairie and portions of Kenosha County, along with communities in both Kenosha and Walworth counties. The bill now moves to the Wisconsin Senate, where lawmakers will decide whether to advance the felony grooming proposal to the governor’s desk.
15 Responses
Check those demoncrats harddrives asap!
What kind of perverts vote no?!
Pedocrats
Now include the ones that brainwashes kids into chopping their junk off and dressing like a woman.
A tranny didnt like that…
Hats off to Nedweski, a politician who actually cares and takes action!
Feels good to have voted for someone like that. Finally, a vote not wasted.
Also, the 6 Democrats who voted against this? Check their computers.
What gets me is, “up to” 10yrs. Make it a minimum of 10yrs! Sentences rarely match the crime, especially in soft on-crime blue cities.
I’m grateful Amanda brought this bill forward, just wish the punishment was more strict on monsters.
One of the “no” votes is the current President of the Racine teachers union.
Get your kids out of RUSD. Their teachers union supports grooming.
KUSD better clean their house! The law can now stop the pervs💯
What could possibly be in the verbiage of this bill that would prompt ANYONE to vote “No”?
Not “democratic” assembly members …….. DEMOCRAT assembly members.
Please ……
Cruz from Racine and the head of the teachers union really cares about protecting people like this. Votrs send her to Madison, and teachers choose her also. Glad I left that town.
Nedweski, YOU LOST THE TEACHERS VOTE! At least in Racine!
The teachers in Racine support grooming.
to the 6 that voted against keeping our kids safe…. TO THE WOOD CHIPPERRRRRRR