What tech giant Elon Musk may not have known when he shared a viral post calling out Wyoming state representatives who voted not to introduce an anti-child-grooming bill is that the initial version of the bill proposed harsher penalties for grooming than those Wyoming imposes for statutory rape — and in some cases murder.
One of the bill’s grooming violations originally proposed a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison - greater than the 20-year minimum sentence Wyoming imposes for second-degree murder.
House Bill 9 cleared its introductory vote Tuesday in the state House of Representatives with six House Democrats and 13 House Republicans voting not to introduce it.
Then on Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee advanced amendments that, if they survive both House and Senate, would ascribe a general maximum five-year penalty for sexually grooming kids, with 10-year and 15-year maximums for grooming children under 16 and children under 12, respectively.
That’s a big change from the 10-year, four-to-life, and minimum-of-25-year sentences embedded in the bill Tuesday.
Penalty Changes
Brandi Sorensen, the mother of a teen boy who reportedly received sexualized messages from his then-girlfriend’s mother about three years ago, told Cowboy State Daily she approves of the penalty changes and she was happy to see lawmakers across the political spectrum work the bill Wednesday during committee.
“I think the change of penalties is good in general, because it leaves the discretion (for judges) and some of the penalties are harsher than the actual sexual abuse we are trying to prevent,” said Sorensen, in a quick interview in the state Capitol’s Senate gallery, which she took her son to see after the committee meeting.
Sorensen and another mother visiting the Capitol to ask for tougher protections for kids, Cathy Holman, said they were pleased and surprised to find so many people testifying in favor of the bill.
“I was glad to see there was support from the (Laramie County) district attorney, because she could speak to the actual application of laws in Wyoming, and that the other laws don’t actually cover this,” said Sorensen.
Laramie County District Attorney Sylvia Hackl, testifying on behalf of the Wyoming County and Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said the bill would plug a gap in the law.
Hackl noted the inverted penalties in the earlier draft and said that would be a policy decision for lawmakers to address.
Sweetwater County had a case last year in which a jury convicted a man of sexual exploitation of a child, for encouraging a child into sex acts. While applicable in that case, that statute is typically used in child pornography-related crimes.
Sorensen told the committee that law enforcement told her the things that happened to her son weren’t covered. She said the 40-year-old woman in contact with her son had urged him to send a photograph of himself in “special underwear” to the woman’s daughter, his then-girlfriend.
Sorensen said the woman asked if someone was “good,” implying, in bed; and that the woman discussed lingerie with the boy and joked about how she made money and had “stacks of dollar bills.”
And, Stalking Of Minors
Holman’s daughter, Gillian Holman, was the victim in a high-profile stalking case in which Marcie Smith, then 41, was convicted last year.
Brandi Sorensen's son Preston was the reported victim in another case, for which Smith received a deferral.
Evidence surfaced in 2024 that Smith was behind a yearlong effort to make Gillian Holman, who was 15 when the onslaught started, look like a bully who was cruel and promiscuous. Some texts impersonated Gillian; others were worded as if they were from a teacher or parent voicing concerns about Gillian’s behavior, according to interviews with the Holman family and screenshots from the case.
Preston, who was Gillian's friend and is now her boyfriend, also endured months of what his parents called “grooming” and harrowing behavior by Smith. She tried to coerce Preston into dating her own daughter when the pair broke up after freshman year; and she encouraged the teen to send her daughter a photograph of himself in his underwear, screenshots show.
Cathy, Gillian, and Gillian's father Dan Holman lobbied alongside Brandi Sorensen Wednesday - but for a different bill.
That's House Bill 8, which would make it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison for adults to stalk minors, if it becomes law.
That's an expansion of Wyoming's pre-existing stalking law, which usually only applies in repeat or intensified stalking cases, such as someone violating a protection order to stalk someone else.
Without this change, a simple stalking case with a minor victim would remain a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.
Allen Thompson, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, said though the bill is only one sentence, the felony-versus-misdemeanor distinction is significant in law enforcement.
In most misdemeanor crimes and with some exceptions, officers can't arrest someone without a warrant unless the crime happened in their presence. In felonies, they can, if they have probable cause.
This Committee's Work
House Judiciary Committee Chair Art Washut, R-Casper, fielded multiple amendment requests Wednesday on the grooming bill.
Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie, voiced a concern that the bill would criminalize sex education teachers.
A non-committee-member who visited the meeting, Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, explained that he voted against the bill's introduction because of confusing language within it, such as incongruities in the age distinctions associated with each new crime.
Typically the more "dear" certain bills are to people, the more lawmakers resist amending them, Brown added.
The committee had contemplated the bill twice prior, last August and October.
"This is a good lesson," said Washut after hearing multiple proposed changes. "It's really important to think about amendments before we get here. The (House) expects the committee has done its due diligence on this legislation. When we show up on the floor with nine amendments, think about the message that sends about the work of this committee."
Elon Musk
The viral Libs of TikTok post Musk shared this week had called out Wyoming's six House Democrats for voting not to introduce the grooming bill.
What the online personality Libs of TikTok did not write in her caption was that twice as many Republicans as Democrats voted against the bill's introduction.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
