Keith Gillespie touches base on the grooming bill

Last Friday at Central York High School, social studies teacher Erin Walker invited three political figures to speak to her class about a plethora of issues, one of those figures being state representative Keith Gillespie. Gillespie was able to talk briefly about his grooming bill, a law that increases the criminal penalty for adults who engage in a course of conduct resulting in the corruption of the morals of a minor.

“This is another tool in the toolbox for district attorneys to have this term called grooming,” Gillespie said. Gillespie has given the act a name, and he feels that it is particularly helpful in prosecuting those who have engaged in inappropriate sexual relations with minors. This covers all of those controversial stories seen on the news about an adult having secret relations with a teenager. Whether it be a teacher, a priest or a neighbor; any adult guilty of using the course of grooming to lure a child into inappropriate relations will be charged with a 3rd degree felony.

“If it’s consensual- still illegal,” said Gillespie when asked if consent would lower the charge. “It’s proven that at that age, brains aren’t completely formed to be able to make rational decisions in these kinds of situations.” That statement seems to speak to all of those who raise the question, “Doesn’t it take two to tango?” After digging deeper into the definition of grooming, it becomes evident that grooming involves the darkest form of deceit. Grooming occurs when an authority figure whom a student knows and trusts offers that student a false sense of security in order to lure them into sexual relations, maybe even causing that student to believe that they are in love. Teens are fragile and impressionable, Gillespie gets that.

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