Youth Sports Sexual Assault: What is Grooming?

Youth Sports Sexual Assault

Youth Sports Sexual Assault: What is Grooming?

I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Youth Sports Leagues Sexual Assault Lawyer. Unfortunately, the sexual assault of children continues to be a major issue facing modern society today and the world of youth sports is not immune to such scandals. One of the terms that many people hear surrounding sexual assault is “grooming.” It is important for everyone to understand what grooming is and how to recognize it.

Grooming can Take Many Forms

Sexual assault can cause chronic pain emotionally and the first step in the process is grooming. Grooming is the overarching term given to winning over the trust of a potential victim so that they will lower their guard and become more vulnerable. A potential predator who is grooming their victim may try several different strategies. They often will buy their victim gifts for no apparent reason (i.e. not their birthday or for Christmas). They may go significantly out of their way to spend time with them, such as showing up to their sporting events unannounced. This individual will try to become their victim’s confidante so that the victim will share their secrets with this person. The overall goal of grooming is to earn the victim’s trust so that they lower their guard before assaulting their victim, often leading to PTSD.

Grooming is Not Limited to the Potential Victim

It is vital for people to understand that grooming is not limited to the victim but, in the case of a child, includes the victim’s parents as well, particularly in cases of therapist sexual assault. In order for the predator to assault their victim, they will try to arrange situations to get the victim alone. This means earning the trust of the parents. They may try to meet up with the victims’ parents, offer to babysit or drive the kids around, or even perform yardwork. The predator is trying to earn the trust of the parents so that they can more easily arrange situations where they will be alone with the child.

Grooming vs. “Just Being Nice,” How to Spot the Difference

For many people, they may just think this individual is being nice. To alleviate this confusion, there are a couple of factors to look for. First, does the person have friends that are close to their age? Often, people who are pedophiles have difficult socializing with people in their age range. Second, Christmas and birthday gifts are fine; however, it is the gifts for “no apparent reason” that should draw up some concern. Finally, watch for physical contact between the person and their potential victim. Grooming often entails seemingly benign physical contact. The predator will watch to see how the victim responds to this first touch before assault leads to emotional traumatic injury.

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Youth Sports Sexual Assault Lawyer

I’m Ed Smith, a Youth Sports Leagues Sexual Assault Lawyer in Sacramento. Grooming is a sinister process that represents the gateway to child sexual abuse. If you, or a loved one has been sexually assaulted, please contact me at (916) 921-6400 for friendly, free advice. I also make sure to keep my toll-free line available for people calling outside of the Sacramento region: (800) 404-5400.

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Youth Sports Sexual Assault

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