Grooming has become a more discussed topic in recent years. Grooming in media is often shown as some old man talking to young girls, but groomers aren’t just old men. It can be hard to recognize when someone is being groomed, but it’s imperative that teens can notice the signs.
First off, sudden changes in behavior or mental health issues can be a key sign of grooming. Being more secretive and being less present at home can also be an indicator.
Grooming can also be difficult to recognize when you are actually in the situation. Emotions and feelings can fog your judgment and reframe what’s abnormal as acceptable. Older individuals or people that you have a power imbalance with can take advantage of you. Predators might start by building trust with you in any way they can, such as providing special attention and gifts. They just want to get your guard down.
After building trust, they might attempt to isolate you from your friends and family. Making you more and more alone, with only them to fall back on, and so you have no one to tell you it’s wrong. They might introduce you to more sexualized content or discuss more inappropriate topics in order to make you desensitized to them—normalizing their predatory behavior. Throughout the grooming process, predators might use coercion and threats to maintain control over you, ensuring their success.
Grooming is so prevalent in this current era in America. While most people think that things like this won’t happen to them, it’s not uncommon.
George Sagner, former Mead High School basketball coach, was found guilty on all eight charges of sexually abusing and grooming student-athletes. Sagner joined Mead in 2021 as the new head coach for the Mead Girls Basketball team. Sagner was arrested in November of 2022, because of a Safe2Tell tip that said Sagner had ‘inappropriate relationships with his players for years.’ The tip lead to a police investigation revealing that the allegations against Sagner were true. He was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. One of the students said his abuse against her started in 2021 when she was an incoming senior. The victim, along with another student, recounted being invited back to Sagner’s home, where they smoked marijuana, drank alcohol and were inappropriate touched by Sagner.
If you or a loved one have been sexually assaulted, call 1-800-656-4673. You are not alone.
Mikey Carrigan • Nov 17, 2025 at 9:49 am
This is so eye opening to how difficult it is to tell if you/a loved one is getting groomed.