Starting 1 August 2026, anyone 18 or older who tries to build a false trusting relationship with a child to later engage in sexual conduct can be charged with a felony in Minnesota, whether any sexual activity happens or not. The new law also requires police departments to notify the appropriate licensing board if a teacher is criminally charged with an offense that triggers automatic license denial or revocation. By 1 August 2027, the Minnesota Department of Youth, Children and Families will be required to update mandated reporter training for education professionals, including training on how to identify and report grooming and threatened sexual abuse, the duty to report grooming as maltreatment, how to spot the warning signs and how to recognize riskier environments.
Legislation that criminalizes grooming after a relationship has been established arrives too late for the child. Guardii's anti-grooming filter identifies predatory contact as it occurs, detecting the incremental trust-building tactics, isolation strategies and boundary violations that characterize grooming behavior in direct messages across Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, Roblox and other platforms. The system flags hostile contact before any relationship forms, alerts a parent, school or safeguarding professional in real time, and enables immediate escalation to law enforcement where a criminal threshold is met. Minnesota's felony statute creates accountability; Guardii's detection module prevents the harm the statute now seeks to punish.
