HB993, Grooming Bill Passes Unanimously in State House

In a historic vote, the Georgia House of Representatives unanimously approved HB993, submitted by Rep. Alan Powell, that would make the grooming of a child or minor by an adult for indecent purposes a felony.

In his address to the full House before the vote last week, Powell blamed social media for the increased prevalence of sexual grooming of minors and called those involved in such practices, sick.

Powell said he spent over a year consulting with legal experts to make sure the bill if passed, had no loopholes.

Rep. Powell said after more work the bill was resubmitted this session and had two reads before it was sent to the House Juvenile Justice Committee where Powell said it received enthusiastic approval.

After hearing from Powell and fielding several comments from House members, House Speaker Jon Burns called for the vote and it passed unanimously.

If signed into law, the HB993 would likely affect a case in Hart County that has yet to go to trial involving an 11-year-old girl who was allegedly groomed for years by her gymnastics coach at the Bell Family YMCA in Hartwell.

That girl, later identified as Jennifer Cobb, died at the age of 20 after her alleged molester, Jeremy Green, was arrested and then released on bond.

Green was indicted by a Hart County Grand Jury on six counts of child molestation and rape while employed at the Bell Family YMCA in Hartwell.

The indictment alleges Green molested and raped “a teenage girl under the age of 16 from July 2015 to November 2015.”

However, Jennifer’s parents allege the molestation went on for years after that until he was finally arrested in 2021.

Green has pleaded not guilty.

On June 24, 2021, He was released on a $250,000 bond and has been under house arrest since then.

Jennifer Cobb was found dead on June 30, 2021.

That case is still awaiting trial.