South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

H 4522 — Sexual Grooming of a Minor

Last action — Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced May 06, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Stalled 14% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 16-15-420 SO AS TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF SEXUAL GROOMING OF A MINOR, AND TO PROVIDE A PENALTY.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

44 added · 3 removed

44 line(s) added, 3 removed.

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2025-2026 Bill 4522 Text of Previous Version (May.
06, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 4522Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)                 A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 16-15-420 SO AS TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF SEXUAL GROOMING OF A MINOR, AND TO PROVIDE A PENALTY.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Article 3, Chapter 15, Title 16 of the S.C.
Code is amended by adding:
      Section 16-15-420.
(A) As used in this section, the term:
       (1) "Actor" means a person eighteen years of age or older.
       (2) "Communication" means any verbal, written, or electronic communication.
       (3) "Harmful to minors" means as defined in Section 16-15-375.
       (4) "Minor" means as defined in Section 16-15-375.
       (5) "Pattern of conduct or communication" means a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose.
       (6) "Sexual activity" means as defined in Section 16-15-375.
       (7) "Sexually explicit nudity" means as defined in Section 16-15-375.
    (B) An actor who engages in a pattern of conduct or communication to a minor that includes explicit and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual activity or that includes representations of a person in a state of sexually explicit nudity and that is harmful to minors commits the offense of sexual grooming of a minor.  An actor who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than five years.
    (C) Mistake of age is not a defense to a prosecution pursuant to the provisions of this section.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on May 06, 2025 at 10:44 PM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  2. Introduced and read first time

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 169 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (169)

169 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does H 4522 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 16-15-420 SO AS TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF SEXUAL GROOMING OF A MINOR, AND TO PROVIDE A PENALTY.
Who sponsors H 4522?
H 4522 is sponsored by Representative April Cromer.
What is the current status of H 4522?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced May 06, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 4522?
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