THOMAS COUNTY, GA — House Bill 421 aims to stop predators from traveling across state lines to meet children they contacted online, closing a legal gap exposed by a 2015 Thomas County case.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
A new Georgia bill aims to close a decade-old gap in state law that left law enforcement without a charge for adults who travel from other states to meet minors for indecent purposes.
House Bill 421 would add five words to Georgia's existing enticing a child law: "or travels from another state." The bill has passed the Georgia House.
Thomas County Sheriff Tim Watkins said the need for the legislation became clear in 2015.
"In 2015, on Thanksgiving night, a father found a man that had traveled here from South Carolina in the bedroom of his 13-year-old child. We brought him. He called the sheriff's office. Deputies responded. We brought him down to the investigations, and we were trying to come up with a charge to charge the gentleman with," Watkins said.
Watkins said the man had been talking to the 13-year-old online for weeks before traveling hours to Thomas County to meet the child. When investigators looked for an applicable charge, they found nothing in Georgia law that addressed crossing state lines for that purpose — despite similar laws existing in Florida, Alabama and South Carolina.
"It was not in there. It was just omitted," Watkins said.
For 10 years, Watkins worked with State Representative Darlene Taylor to address the gap. The effort involved working with lawyers and updating the existing statute.
Taylor said the issue is one that has gone unaddressed for too long.
"I'm glad...this terrible issue with child abuse, and that's what it is, has come to the surface. It's something no one ever wanted to talk about, but it's out there. And we need to protect our children. And this is one bill that will help do that," Taylor said.
Taylor said the case that prompted the legislation was not an isolated incident.
"And as I was bringing this bill forward this year, I got a letter from another detective locally where a similar case came up. And again, we still had no law," Taylor said.
Diane Seller, the mother of the teenager involved in the 2015 case, said she supports the bill and believes the protection should have been in place sooner.
"It should be a felony. It should not be a slap on the wrist, and they just get away with it," Seller said.
Seller said she is relieved the legislation has advanced.
"Great. I mean, it should have been in, I think it should have already been in effect before now, but the fact that it's passed now is great," Seller said.
Watkins said he hopes the law will serve as both a deterrent and a tool for prosecutors.
"I hope it will act as a deterrent, but the fact is, it makes it a lot easier for law enforcement, and the district attorneys, and the court system to prosecute these guys when they show up," Watkins said.
House Bill 421 still needs a full vote in the Georgia Senate and the governor's signature before it becomes law.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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