Minnesota's New Anti-Grooming Law: What To Know

MINNESOTA — Minnesota will soon make child grooming a felony under a new law signed by Gov. Tim Walz.

The law puts Minnesota among a growing number of states that have created specific criminal penalties for grooming.

Gov. Tim Walz signed HF 3489 after the legislative session. The bill establishes the criminal offense of grooming and makes several related changes involving schools, mandated reporter training, and teacher licensing.

The new grooming offense takes effect Aug. 1, 2026, and applies to crimes committed on or after that date, according to the bill text.

The law does not make ordinary communication with a minor illegal. Instead, it targets adults who sexually manipulate children through a deliberate pattern of conduct.

Under the bill, a person 18 or older commits felony grooming if the person does both of the following:

• Expresses to a child the desire or intent to engage in sexual conduct with that child.
• Engages in a deliberate pattern of conduct to methodically develop a false trusting relationship with the child that is intended to strategically manipulate the child into sexual conduct with the person at a future time.

The bill says the crime can be committed regardless of whether any sexual conduct occurs.

For the grooming offense, the bill defines a child as someone 15 or younger. It defines a pattern as two or more instances of conduct.

A person convicted of grooming could face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

The bill also creates felony violations for people in positions of authority and school employees or contractors in certain cases.

A person who commits grooming or certain related offenses is guilty of a felony if the person is in a current or recent position of authority over the victim, is more than 36 months older than the victim and the victim is under 18.

A person who commits grooming or certain related offenses is also guilty of a felony if the person is employed or contracted to provide services for an elementary, middle or secondary school, and the victim is enrolled as a student at the school, regardless of the student's age.

The bill also requires education-related mandated reporter training to address grooming and threatened sexual abuse by Aug. 1, 2027. The training must include how to identify signs of grooming, the duty to report grooming as maltreatment and how to recognize environments and circumstances that present an increased risk of grooming.

HF 3489 also changes teacher licensing law. Under the bill, a teacher's license must be refused, not renewed or automatically revoked without the right to a hearing if the teacher is convicted of grooming or certain other child abuse or sexual abuse offenses.

The bill also requires police departments and county sheriffs to notify the appropriate licensing board when a teacher is criminally charged with certain offenses.