Michigan! There are gaps in our laws and our children are slipping through the cracks! 

38-year-old soccer coach, Kyle Lesperance, was caught sending texts to his 12-year-old soccer player. Within 18 months, there were 3800+ texts sent. There were online games played together, personal notes exchanged, texts at 2am and more.

According to the police report, there were texts including ones joking about her being his girlfriend, how he was 'raging' because he couldn't sit by her, how he was depressed because he couldn't see her for the week...the list goes on. There was no physical contact or exchange of nude images reported. No criminal charges were brought. And yet that raises a serious question:

What protection does a child have when an adult spends months building an inappropriate relationship with them, but the behavior doesn't meet the requirements of an existing criminal offense?

Michigan has laws addressing certain forms of solicitation and sexual exploitation of minors, but I believe we need to examine whether our laws adequately address intentional grooming that occurs before physical contact or sexual exploitation.

Grooming can involve a deliberate pattern of manipulation, inappropriate emotional intimacy, and boundary violations intended to prepare a child for sexual abuse or exploitation.

I am calling on the Michigan Legislature to review existing laws and develop legislation establishing a clearly defined, standalone criminal offense for intentional child grooming.

This legislation should address deliberate grooming behavior before abuse occurs while protecting constitutional rights and innocent interactions.

We should not have to wait for a child to be sexually abused before the law can intervene.

I urge Michigan lawmakers to take action to strengthen protections for our children. Please sign and share if you agree!