Missouri mother helps spearhead grassroots bill to criminalize child sexual grooming

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- For nearly two years, Madison Royer's closest family members, younger sisters Sophie and Evelyn, were sexually groomed by someone close to them who they believed in and trusted.

"They think it started when they were 14 and 16, very slowly, and then it picked up when they turned 15 and 17," said Royer, a mother of three from Bolivar, Missouri. "We found out in late March 2025, four days before my sister tried to commit suicide."

Sexual grooming is a repeated, proven and specific pattern of sexually deviant behavior, used by adults to establish an emotional relationship before exploiting and abusing a vulnerable minor, an act that often leads to significant psychological trauma to victims and their families.

In this case, the man was Sophie and Evelyn's martial arts instructor. The warning signs first appeared when he took the two home one night after midnight from a concert while their parents were out of town, later staying in his truck for a concerning amount of time after the event. An invitation to one of his dentist appointments raised even more red flags, before Royer and her parents discovered what was occurring, including secret texting. 

"My parents thought he would never do something like that. She looked at their phone and then saw what was going on," Royer said. "They don't just groom the child, they also groom the community and they put themselves in a place of being a pillar of the community. She felt like she couldn't tell anyone because they wouldn't understand.”

The family later reported the man to the FBI and the Department of Social Services, which thoroughly investigated the case, including forensic interviews and reviewing numerous communications between them.

Sexual grooming differs from crimes like enticement of a child, which occurs when an adult attempts to lure or induce a minor to enter a vehicle, building or secluded area with the intent to commit a crime against them. Current laws often fail to cover most sexual grooming cases and make them difficult to prosecute unless physical abuse has occurred.

“DSS gave their conclusion which was that he didn't break the law because he hadn't physically sexually abused them,” Royer said. “They concluded his behavior was inappropriate and could constitute grooming but it was not illegal. The caseworker who was working the case, the investigator from the state, he was like, 'This guy's a monster.'"

Missouri, like 36 other U.S. states, has no explicit laws criminalizing sexual grooming despite its occurence in almost all child sexual abuse cases. Research by the National Institute of Health indicates sexual grooming is involved in 99% of child sexual abuse cases, with child predators using it as a way to avoid detection and prevent disclosure.

For Royer's family, the inability to prosecute the case was a devastating blow despite the confirmed red flags and work by law enforcement. The trauma has had a devastating impact on Royer's sisters, both of whom contemplated suicide.

Now, it's become one of the driving forces behind sweeping new legislation in Missouri called "Sophie and Evan's Law," which defines and criminalizes the offense of grooming a minor, making it a Class B felony punishable by a prison sentence of 5 to 15 years.

Not long after the investigation, Royer launched a grassroots effort with friends and family called Missourians for Child Protection, to push for stricter laws like “Sophie and Evan’s Law” and close state loopholes to help prosecute cases. 

Royer’s advocacy efforts quickly gained the attention and support of state lawmakers like Sen. Jill Carter, Rep. Christopher Warwick and public safety officials who helped craft the bill and bring it before the state legislature.

"We went public with my sister’s story because we wanted to protect the community. So many people reached out to us and were sharing their stories of how their children or how they themselves were sexually groomed,” Royer said. “We held a town hall. Sen. Carter was there and a bunch of lawyers and judges and prosecutors, they all came and we literally wrote this bill.”

According to language in the senate bill, the offense of sexual grooming would occur when an adult (18 or older) engages in a pattern of conduct with at least one overtly sexual act directed towards a minor that infers the intent to prepare, condition or manipulate them for sexual conduct, sexual exploitation or sexual trafficking.

The offense would be a class B felony unless sexual conduct, sexual exploitation or sexual trafficking occurs, in which case it will be a class A felony. Those found guilty would be ineligible for probation, parole or conditional release until serving a minimum of five years.

Royer has made several trips to Jefferson City in the time since to advocate for the measure in public hearings. The measure -- inspired by similar legislation passed in Ohio -- has thus far received bipartisan support from lawmakers, recently being referred to the Judiciary, Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee in the Missouri Senate on Jan. 21.

"I went and I spoke to two victims recently whose children were groomed and trafficked. It just pushes me all the more. Being a mother, I have three girls. And the fact that it's only getting worse," she said. "I think people are waking up and they recognize this bill is very necessary. A lot of citizens, constituents, they don't know this isn't illegal."

According to the CDC, 1 in 4 girls before the age of 18 will be sexually abused, with an increasing number of cases occurring since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We understand better now how sexual and child sexual abuse happens, because there's been a lot more research on it," she said, citing numerous studies including one from the Department of Justice. "It has identifiable red flag behaviors, and a lot of states are forgoing their enticement laws in favor of sexual grooming laws."

Major warning signs of sexual grooming include excessive communication, intense secrecy, isolation of victims, behavioral changes, normalization to sexual touch and attempts to turn victims against their parents to divide them.

The senate bill in Missouri would also establish harsher penalties for those convicted of sextortion, which involves threatening or blackmailing someone to distribute private and sensitive material in exchange for money or sexual favors.

That component of the bill is named after Evan Boettler, a 16-year-old from Aurora, Missouri, who committed suicide in 2024 after being sextorted by someone on Snapchat. Boettler's parents also worked extensively on the measure with Royer and state officials.

“We partnered with them and it's been amazing. They're incredible people," Royer said. "The Boettlers started Evan’s Voice to educate on sextortion and prevent it. And then they came to the Town Hall to discuss Sophie’s Law."

Royer's testimony in Jefferson City even inspired one Kentucky representative to pursue a similar law this year. She was told by officials in Ohio who helped pass a similar measure in 2025 that the state has seen an increase in prosecution rates and investigations since its passage.

With a growing number of states now passing anti-sexual grooming laws or in the process of crafting legislation to strengthen protections for children, Royer hopes approval in Missouri will continue a domino effect across the country and lead to more justice for individuals and families impacted. 

"That's something I really hope for. It started with Illinois, then Ohio, then Texas, now Missouri, now Kentucky," she said. "I think it'll be incredibly vindicating. I think it'll give justice to a lot of children."