Grooming May Be Child Abuse Under Mandated Reporter Laws

Minnesota officials have sentenced the teacher charged with child endangerment for inappropriate texts to one of his students. As I explained in an earlier post, the teacher sent a series of posts to a student, saying that he had fallen in love with her. The texts did not amount to sexual abuse, because they apparently had no physically intimate relationship. However, prosecutors charged that the texts constituted "child endangerment" under Minnesota law, which offense includes behavior that could harm a minor's emotion and/or mental health."

Many states have similar definitions of endangerment, while others have definitions of emotional abuse that could include an inappropriate not-yet-physical relationship. Georgia's mandated reporter law, for example, defines emotional abuse as behavior that causes or creates a risk of "observable and significant impairment in such child's ability to function within a child's normal range of performance and behavior." North Carolina requires the reporting of "serious emotional damage," as evidenced by "severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or aggressive behavior."

When reviewing your state's mandated reporter law, then, do not stop with simply physical abuse or neglect. Be certain that you know the parameters of emotional abuse that are your responsibility to report.