Minnesota's New Grooming Law Takes Effect August 1, 2026

What Minnesota's new law changes

In May 2026, Minnesota enacted changes to Minn. Stat. § 609.352. The amendments add a definition of “pattern” and three new subdivisions addressing grooming, violations by people in positions of authority, and school-related violations. These changes take effect August 1, 2026, and apply to crimes committed on or after that date.

The new provisions appear in 2026 Minnesota Laws, chapter 108, sections 5 through 9. The existing statute already addresses solicitation of children and certain electronic communications with children; the 2026 law adds a separate way a grooming charge may be brought.

What the grooming provision requires

Under the new subdivision 2c, the person must be at least 18 years old. The law requires both of the following: the person expresses to a child a desire or intent to engage in sexual conduct with that child, and the person engages in a deliberate pattern of conduct designed to develop a false trusting relationship for the purpose of manipulating the child to engage in sexual conduct in the future.

For this part of the statute, a “child” means a person age 15 or younger. A “pattern” means two or more instances of conduct. The statute expressly says the offense may be complete even if sexual conduct never occurs.

Those details matter. The law does not make every inappropriate, troubling, or misunderstood conversation a grooming felony. The statutory elements include a particular expression, a deliberate pattern, and a specific future-directed purpose.

How this differs from the existing solicitation law

Minn. Stat. § 609.352 already makes it a felony for an adult to solicit a child—or someone the adult reasonably believes is a child—to engage in sexual conduct when the adult intends to engage in that conduct. A separate existing provision addresses certain electronic solicitation, sexual communications, and distribution of sexual material when done with the intent to arouse sexual desire.

The new grooming subdivision is different because it focuses on the combination of an expressed desire or intent and a deliberate pattern aimed at building a false trusting relationship for future sexual conduct. Understanding which subdivision is alleged is important because each one uses different language and requires proof of different facts.

Special provisions for authority figures and schools

The 2026 law also adds subdivision 2d. It applies when a person commits conduct described in subdivisions 2 through 2c, 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.

New subdivision 2e addresses a person employed by or contracted to provide services for an elementary, middle, or secondary school. It applies when that person commits conduct described in subdivisions 2 through 2c and the victim is enrolled at the school, regardless of the victim's age.

Each new offense is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. Those are statutory maximums, not a prediction of what would happen in any individual case.

Why the exact communications and timeline matter

The new statute turns on precise questions: what was expressed, whether there were two or more instances of conduct, what relationship was being developed, and what purpose the person allegedly had. For the authority and school provisions, age differences, enrollment, employment or contract status, and the nature of the relationship also matter.

Words like “deliberate,” “methodically,” “false trusting relationship,” and “intended” are part of the enacted text. A charge may depend on how messages, conversations, timing, and context relate to those statutory elements. Keil Defense's criminal sexual conduct defense resource explains the broader Minnesota framework for allegations involving sexual conduct.