KENOSHA, Wis. — A mom in Illinois, whose son was victimized by his high school teacher, called TMJ4 after seeing our reports on a former Kenosha teacher accused of misconduct with a student.
That teacher has since been terminated by the Kenosha Unified School District board. Kenosha Police said because there aren't grooming laws in Wisconsin, they can't criminally charge him for allegedly talking with a student on Snapchat after school hours.
It's a case this Illinois mom said she sees frequently and is working to change the law nationwide.
"After this session, I will have Florida, Iowa, and Georgia. In the wings, I have Indiana, Tennessee, Kansas, Idaho, Missouri, and Texas," mother Michelle Peterson said.
Peterson's now looking to add Wisconsin to her list.
We talked with Peterson and parents in Kenosha about policies and procedures they believe need to change.
"Initially relieving to have that person removed from the district, but it's a baby step. It's step one. We still have a long way to go," Ashlyn Witting said.
Witting lives in Kenosha and knows the teacher KUSD's School Board terminated Tuesday.
She and her friend Brittany Lawton have been protesting and calling on KUSD for change for weeks now.
"Obviously I'm glad he's fired and there's not going to be a predator in our schools, around our children, but beyond that, if there's another one, they have the same chance of getting away with it," Lawton explained.
These moms are now calling for policy change at the district level since the state of Wisconsin doesn't have laws against grooming.
"If there's a policy with the school board whether there's a statute or not, it still makes a difference. It's not going to result in criminal charges, but it will at least result that there's no way they can be let back into our schools," Lawton added.
Jenna Rae talked with Lawton and Witting last week before the district terminated this teacher. It's the story that caught the attention of Peterson.
"This was a similar story to what happened to my son, and had there been a grooming law in place, this teacher would've at least been indicted and hopefully convicted," Peterson explained.
In 2010, Peterson's son was groomed by a male teacher and offered money for sexual favors. The teacher was later charged and convicted for soliciting a minor and unlawful grooming.
Since then, Peterson's made it her mission to get grooming laws on the books in all 50 states.
"We just need to stop it before they actually touch these kids, and that's the only time in most of these states, that anything happens to these predators or pedophiles," Peterson said.
This year, Peterson spearheaded the passage of grooming laws in Florida, Iowa, and Georgia. Now, Wisconsin is next on her radar.
"Don't stop fighting. You push and you keep pushing and you don't ever take no for an answer when it comes to your child's safety," Peterson added.
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