Missouri Governor signed Evie and Sophie's Law on April 7, 2026, defining grooming in state statute and giving prosecutors the ability to charge individuals who engage in a deliberate pattern of predatory conduct to lure a minor into a romantic or sexual relationship. The law also criminalises sextortion, defined as using private photos to blackmail someone, and mandates human trafficking training for law enforcement, taking effect in late August. Missouri was previously one of 36 states that did not define grooming by law.
Criminalising grooming as a standalone offence acknowledges that harm begins before explicit solicitation, but enforcement depends on prosecutors identifying the pattern after it has already unfolded. Guardii's anti-grooming detection module identifies predatory contact in real time as messages are exchanged on Instagram, Snapchat, Discord and Roblox, flagging boundary-testing language, attempts to isolate the child or shift conversation off-platform, and other behavioural markers of grooming before the relationship progresses. The platform blocks or surfaces the contact to a parent or school at the earliest stage, enabling intervention before a criminal threshold is crossed.
