Estatutos seleccionados de Montana

(1) A person commits the offense of grooming of a child for a sexual offense if the person purposely or knowingly engages in a pattern of grooming behavior, including in-person or electronic communication, aimed at a child or the child’s guardian with the intent to:

(a) manipulate the child into engaging in sexual conduct, actual or simulated;

(b) coerce or entice a child under 16 years of age to meet in person to engage in sexual conduct, actual or simulated;

(c) distribute or facilitate access to sexually explicit material; or

(d) exploit a position of authority to develop an intimate or secretive relationship with a minor.

(2)(a) Except as provided in subsection (2)(b) or subsection (3), a person convicted of the offense of grooming of a child for a sexual offense shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 10 years and may be fined not more than $10,000.

(b) If the victim is under 16 years of age, a person convicted of the offense of grooming of a child for a sexual offense shall be punished by life imprisonment or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of not less than 4 years or more than 100 years and may be fined not more than $10,000.

(3)(a) If the victim was 12 years of age or younger and the offender was 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense, the offender:

(i) shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of 100 years. The court may not suspend execution or defer imposition of the first 25 years of a sentence of imprisonment imposed under this subsection (3)(a)(i) except as provided in 46-18-222(1) through (5), and during the first 25 years of imprisonment, the offender is not eligible for parole. The exception provided in 46-18-222(6) does not apply.

(ii) may be fined an amount not to exceed $50,000; and

(iii) shall be ordered to enroll in and successfully complete the educational phase and the cognitive and behavioral phase of a sexual offender treatment program provided or approved by the department of corrections.

(b) If the offender is released after the mandatory minimum period of imprisonment, the offender is subject to supervision by the department of corrections for the remainder of the offender’s life and shall participate in the program for continuous, satellite-based monitoring provided for in 46-23-1010.

(4) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Electronic communication” means a sign, a signal, writing, an image, a sound, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted or created in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system.

(b) “Grooming” means behavior that seeks to prepare, induce, or persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity or other forms of exploitation, even if no meeting or sexual act is completed. It is the deliberate act of establishing an emotional connection with a minor through manipulation, trust-building, or influence to facilitate future sexual abuse or exploitation. This includes online or in-person activities, use of third parties, or indirect methods to facilitate the manipulation of a child.

(c) “Sexual conduct” means:

(i) actual or simulated:

(A) sexual intercourse, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex, as defined in 1-1-201;

(B) penetration of the vagina or rectum by any object, except when done as part of a recognized medical procedure;

(C) bestiality;

(D) masturbation;

(E) sadomasochistic abuse;

(F) lewd exhibition of the genitals, breasts, pubic or rectal area, or other intimate parts of a person; or

(G) defecation or urination for the purpose of the sexual stimulation of the viewer; or

(ii) the depiction or observation of a child in the nude or in a state of partial undress with the purpose to abuse, humiliate, harass, or degrade the child or to arouse or gratify the person’s own sexual response or desire or the sexual response or desire of any person.

(d) “Simulated” means any depiction of the genitals or pubic or rectal area that gives the appearance of sexual conduct or incipient sexual conduct.