88R2907 MEW-F     By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 4509       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to creating the criminal offense of child grooming.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Chapter 15, Penal Code, is amended by adding   Section 15.032 to read as follows:          Sec. 15.032.  CHILD GROOMING. (a) A person commits an   offense if, with the intent that an offense under Chapter 43 or an   offense involving sexual activity, the occurrence of which would   subject the actor to criminal liability under Chapter 20A, 21, or   22, be committed, the person knowingly persuades, induces, entices,   or coerces, or attempts to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce, a   child younger than 18 years of age to engage in specific conduct   that, under the circumstances surrounding the actor's conduct as   the actor believes them to be, would:                (1)  constitute an offense under Chapter 43 or an   offense involving sexual activity the occurrence of which would   subject the actor to criminal liability under Chapter 20A, 21, or   22; or                (2)  make the child a party to the commission of an   offense described by Subdivision (1).          (b)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third   degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if   the actor has previously been convicted of an offense under:                (1)  Chapter 20A, if the offense involved conduct   described by Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8);                (2)  Section 21.02;                (3)  Section 21.11;                (4)  Section 22.011, if the victim of the offense was a   child under 18 years of age; or                (5)  Section 22.021, if the victim of the offense was a   child under 18 years of age.          (c)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this   section that the actor is under the age of 18 and:                (1)  the actor engaged in conduct described by   Subsection (a) with respect to another child under the age of 18:                      (A)  who is not more than three years older or   younger than the actor and with whom the actor had a dating   relationship at the time of the offense; or                      (B)  who was the spouse of the actor at the time of   the offense; and                (2)  the conduct occurred only between the actor and   the other child described by Subdivision (1).          (d)  If conduct constituting an offense under this section   also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the   actor may be prosecuted under either section but not both sections.          SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.