House bills protecting trafficking victims move to Senate

By Noah Symes, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — A Senate committee heard a package of House bills Wednesday aiming to protect children from sex trafficking.
House Bill 2273, the lead bill in the package of sexual abuse bills, passed on the House floor with a vote of 148-2 and was sent to the Senate in early February.
The bill package would create the offense of “grooming of a minor,” and increase the amount of time victims of child sex trafficking can recover damages from injury or illness caused by sex trafficking. The bills would increase criminal penalties for child sex trafficking and related crimes and allow for the expungement of prostitution convictions regardless of age at the time of the offense.
Bill sponsor, Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, said Missouri is fourth in the country for human trafficking.
According to a report from Joslyn Law Firm, compiled using National Human Trafficking Hotline data, Missouri has 32.54 human trafficking victims per 100,000 people. Missouri ranks fourth by population and 10th for the 2,016 total number of reported victims.
“We’ve got to stop this modern-day type of slavery,” Lewis said.
Brad Boettler testified in support of the bill package for his son Evan Boettler, who died by suicide after falling victim to sexual extortion.
Boettler said he found messages on Evan’s phone demanding money and threatening the release of explicit photos. He believes his son thought his life was ruined.
Boettler said he and his wife, Kari Boettler, decided to go public with their family’s story after discovering how frequently sexual extortion occurs. The FBI describes “sextortion” as a growing threat preying on teens.
“I think everybody can agree on that our kids are definitely a precious resource and we need all the support and protection that we can give them,” Boettler said.
Madison Royer, the sister of two teenage girls who were groomed by their taekwondo instructor, also supports the bill package.
The bill that would establish the offense of “grooming of a minor” is soon to be renamed for her sisters, Evelyn and Sophie.
Royer said there is a gap in the law that prevents addressing her sisters’ case.
“The only law we have that would address this behavior is enticement,” Royer said. “Someone is prosecuted for enticement if they had texted the child specifically asking for sex, or they have raped the child.”
Royer said these bills would give victims the tools they need to address grooming.
Lewis said similar legislation was set to pass both chambers in 2025 and was minutes away from passing the Senate before the end of the session last year. Lewis said he is confident the bills will continue moving forward.