[0:00] >> Good afternoon, everyone.
[0:01] My name is Senator Erin Maye
[0:02] Quade. I represent Senate
[0:03] district. 56 in the Minnesota
[0:05] Senate tomorrow. August 1st, it
[0:07] will be a felony crime in the
[0:09] state of Minnesota for an adult
[0:10] to groom a child, the
[0:12] implementation of House file.
[0:13] 34 89 will also address other
[0:15] gaps that have made it far too
[0:17] easy for adults to prey on
[0:18] children without consequence.
[0:20] The reason that this bill
[0:21] exists is heartbreaking.
[0:23] A band teacher in my own school
[0:24] district abuse his position to
[0:26] groom and sexually assault
[0:27] multiple students gaps in our
[0:29] laws delayed investigations.
[0:31] And ultimately this teacher
[0:32] went largely unpunished.
[0:34] You'll hear today from the
[0:35] incredible advocate who made
[0:36] sure that this bill became law
[0:38] handle presto and she really
[0:40] was crucial and instrumental to
[0:42] how we got here. Her story was
[0:44] illustrative and she shared it
[0:46] over and over and over again to
[0:47] protect Minnesota students and
[0:49] all children in Minnesota,
[0:50] student in Minnesota
[0:52] grooming and sexual assault can
[0:53] happen to boys and girls.
[0:55] But girls in particular are
[0:56] targeted for grooming and
[0:57] predatory behavior by adults.
[0:59] I was 9 years old. The first
[1:00] time a grown man set something
[1:02] special about my body when I
[1:04] was 14 years old. One of my
[1:05] best friends entered into a
[1:06] relationship with a 24 year-old
[1:08] man. It is not uncommon for
[1:10] girls as young as 13 14 do have
[1:12] boyfriends who are in their
[1:13] 20's. What is happening to
[1:15] young girls and women in this
[1:16] world is truly awful. And our
[1:18] laws often ignore the reality
[1:20] that far too many of us
[1:21] experience. And on Saturday,
[1:23] the law says no more. This is
[1:25] wrong and it is now a felony
[1:27] crime before she takes the mic.
[1:29] I really want to thank Hana and
[1:30] Detective check class and for
[1:31] working so closely with me on
[1:33] this bill. And I thank you for
[1:34] your bravery and telling your
[1:36] story. Thank you for turning
[1:37] something so painful and
[1:38] difficult into such a
[1:39] meaningful legislation. It
[1:41] takes so much work and
[1:42] vulnerability to show up again
[1:44] and again and again. An
[1:45] advocate for change, especially
[1:47] when it's your own story that
[1:48] you're going are really telling
[1:49] to do so. And I'm so grateful
[1:50] to know both of you and to work
[1:52] alongside you. This bill is
[1:54] better. This law is better and
[1:56] protect Minnesota kids because
[1:57] of you. And with that, I will
[1:58] turn it over to Hannah.
[2:04] Thank you.
[2:07] >> I'm Hala presto, the victim
[2:08] survivor of grooming and sexual
[2:10] assault to story is where this
[2:12] legislation was born
[2:15] over a decade ago. I was a girl
[2:17] going to high school.
[2:19] The girl who became deeply hurt
[2:21] by the grooming and sexual
[2:22] assault. She experienced by her
[2:24] band teacher.
[2:26] Then she grew up. It was faced
[2:28] with the harsh reality of being
[2:29] told that charges for a case
[2:31] for being turned down due to
[2:32] gaps in the law.
[2:34] That point in time being told
[2:36] no
[2:38] taught me something about
[2:39] creativity.
[2:40] Creativity comes from
[2:42] constraints from the turn
[2:44] downs, the nose from being told
[2:46] this is the end of the road.
[2:49] It's when I was left with no
[2:50] other options that I have the
[2:51] greatest opportunity to create
[2:53] something that's never existed
[2:54] before.
[2:56] It created a proposal for the
[2:58] changes that needed to be made
[2:59] to protect other kids from
[3:00] grooming and sexual abuse at
[3:02] school.
[3:03] And if it weren't for the
[3:04] support of my detectives and
[3:06] the even police department,
[3:07] especially in those early days,
[3:10] I would have thought it was
[3:10] impossible for someone like
[3:12] need to change the law.
[3:14] But I'm here to report back
[3:15] that remarkably, it's not
[3:19] I celebrate these new law
[3:20] changes. Yes, but even more.
[3:22] So I celebrate the unity and
[3:24] togetherness behind them.
[3:27] This legislation didn't just
[3:28] pass. It passed unanimously in
[3:31] every committee and every floor
[3:32] vote because this matters to
[3:34] all of us.
[3:35] It will always be grateful to
[3:37] the bipartisan authors Co
[3:39] authors and legislative staff.
[3:41] He supported me here at the
[3:42] Capitol.
[3:44] Thank you for listening to me,
[3:45] including in the process and
[3:47] believing in the power of my
[3:49] story
[3:50] because of you. I got to
[3:52] witness our lawmakers,
[3:53] stakeholders and community
[3:54] members said their differences
[3:56] aside to help me protect our
[3:58] young people from grooming
[4:01] and it worked because we did it
[4:02] together as a team
[4:05] since the bill passed. I've
[4:06] been asked so many times now.
[4:08] How does it feel? Hannah?
[4:11] It feels like time travel.
[4:13] It feels like I went back to
[4:15] rescue little Hannah
[4:17] all those years ago. She got
[4:18] left behind in the fan-less and
[4:20] room in the basement of my high
[4:21] school
[4:23] and I went back for we went
[4:25] back for her together
[4:28] being groomed and sexually
[4:29] assaulted. Force me to grow up
[4:31] too fast.
[4:32] I want more kids to be able to
[4:34] just be kids.
[4:36] And I'm so happy to celebrate
[4:38] that tomorrow. We've increased
[4:39] those odds.
[4:42] This is the ending to the story
[4:43] I want.
[4:45] If I could have chosen between
[4:46] charges from a case or this,
[4:48] I choose this
[4:50] a far better outcome for our
[4:52] communities and a happier
[4:53] ending for me. Thank you.
[5:00] >> We will take questions.
[5:06] >> Senate where it is loaded
[5:09] with what changes with it in
[5:10] terms of what happens to these.
[5:13] >> French's. Yeah. So it is now
[5:16] a felony crime to groom a child
[5:18] in the state of Minnesota.
[5:19] So it's one of the highest
[5:21] charges you could possibly get
[5:23] other gaps that were closed.
[5:26] We don't allow the grooming of
[5:28] children no matter the age if
[5:29] it is a school employee or
[5:31] contract employee because we do
[5:33] have students in the state of
[5:33] Minnesota who go to school up
[5:35] to the age of 22. We also have
[5:38] protections for people in
[5:39] positions from people in
[5:40] positions of authority. So
[5:42] that's outside of schools that
[5:43] could be soccer coaches or boy
[5:45] or girl scout leaders or
[5:47] pastors are faith leaders.
[5:48] So we really did kind of go
[5:50] across the board on combating
[5:51] to say where children being
[5:52] preyed upon and how can they
[5:54] close those gaps. So felony
[5:56] penalties and making sure that
[5:58] age is not taken into account
[6:00] when its positions of authority
[6:01] or in a school
[6:08] Russians.
[6:11] >> And you kind of touched on
[6:14] this, but can you tell me a
[6:15] lie?
[6:17] >> What this means to being a
[6:18] little girl in being told that
[6:19] like, sorry, nothing, we can do
[6:21] it. Now. You're doing something
[6:23] major for so many other little
[6:25] kids who have been in your same
[6:26] position. Can you tell me what
[6:27] this means to you?
[6:30] >> Yeah, I mean, it's it's
[6:32] something I never would have
[6:34] imagined this possible for
[6:35] myself. Certainly. I think
[6:39] when I was turned down, it hurt
[6:41] us from a case returned down by
[6:43] the county. If if in that
[6:45] moment someone had said to me,
[6:47] well, then you should just
[6:48] change the law. I would have
[6:49] thought that was crazy
[6:51] and not possible at all.
[6:54] And so I think that just as
[6:56] experience of all the support
[6:58] that I've received
[7:00] from all different kinds of
[7:01] people that have wanted to see
[7:03] me succeed and see the changes
[7:05] being made has really shown me
[7:08] how it is possible to
[7:10] accomplish great things.
[7:12] If
[7:13] you asked for help and you're
[7:16] willing to be vulnerable and
[7:17] courageous and be a part of a
[7:19] team that's really all gonna
[7:21] come together to see this
[7:22] through.
[7:25] >> A question for you,
[7:26] obviously grooming in child
[7:28] sexual abuse is
[7:30] a big deal and that one law
[7:32] will just help to stop all of
[7:33] that. Are there other things
[7:34] that you guys are looking at
[7:36] are doing to help protect
[7:38] children more?
[7:39] >> Yes, I actually haven't set
[7:41] of bills that are directly
[7:43] dealing with this issue.
[7:43] So one of them is removing the
[7:45] statute of limitations on child
[7:47] sexual abuse victims seeking
[7:48] civil penalties against their
[7:50] abusers. I have one that
[7:52] increases the age of consent
[7:53] from 16 to 18 because it is far
[7:55] too young and the state of
[7:56] Minnesota. I have one that
[7:58] deals with increased penalties
[8:00] for adults who are mandated
[8:03] reporters and are aware of
[8:05] child sexual abuse that is
[8:06] occurring and have a
[8:08] relationship with the adults,
[8:09] not the child because right now
[8:11] the statute is constructed.
[8:13] It imagines that an adult comes
[8:14] across a child in the course of
[8:15] their work and is reported to
[8:16] them. There are far more adults
[8:19] who are aware of the adults who
[8:20] are committing the sexual abuse
[8:21] and not mandated reporting.
[8:23] I think there might be 2 more
[8:25] in that suite of bills. But
[8:26] this is this is a huge first
[8:28] step. Absolutely. But there is
[8:29] more that we can and should do
[8:31] in the state of Minnesota and
[8:32] those bills that I just
[8:32] mentioned. They are all
[8:33] bipartisan. And so I really
[8:35] hope to get those across the
[8:36] finish line next session.
[8:38] You know, if I returned, but
[8:39] it's very, very important work.
[8:40] And this was a huge step.
[8:42] Great. Thank you so much.
[8:45] Any other questions.
[8:48] All right. Thank you all so
[8:49] much.