TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Ohio’s governor is getting a pair of bills aimed at protecting children from predators.
Lawmakers sent a pair of bills to the governor that would create the crimes of sexual extortion and grooming.
House Bill 531 was named ‘Braden’s Law’ after a Braden Markus, an Olentangy High School who took his own life after being a victim of a sextortion online.
He was contacted by someone posing as a 15-year-old girl. The person sent him inappropriate photos and asked for him to send some back of himself. After he sent the photos, the person demanded money and threatened to release the photo online.
Braden took his own life 27 minutes after he was contacted.
The bill had support from groups representing law enforcement agencies and prosecutors.
Lawmakers also advanced a bill to create the crime of grooming a child.
House Bill 322 makes it illegal for someone to engage in a “pattern of conduct” with a child to:
- Entice, coerce, or solicit the minor to engage in “sexual activity,”
- Solicit the minor to engage in sexual activity with the person or someone else
- Prepare the minor to engage in sexual activity with the person or someone else
Those aspects of the bill apply to someone 18 or older who is engaging with someone less than 16 years old and who is four-or-more years younger than the person.
The bill also makes it illegal for adults, including those in trusted positions, to engage in similar activities with a minor of any age. It applies to people who have relationships with the children including:
- Parents or guardians
- Teachers or school administrators
- Coaches or instructors
- Mental health professionals
- Juvenile detention facility employees
- Religious leaders
- Police officers who are more than two years older than the minor
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This article was published by WTVG on 2024-12-19 16:29:00
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