Sexual extortion now against the law

SANDUSKY — A recently enacted bill in Ohio makes sexual extortion a criminal offense. Senate Bill 263, passed by the 135th Ohio General Assembly, and signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine, created two tiers of a criminal statute called sexual extortion. The bill is named Braden's Law in memory of 15-year-old Braden Markus who committed suicide in 2021 after becoming the target of a sextortion scam, according to a WBNS story. He was communicating with a person on social media who he believed to be a young woman. The scammer sent photos of a high school girl then harassed him to send pictures of himself. When Markus relented and sent an image, the scammer made a video out of it and demanded $1,800 or they would release the video. Markus begged the scammer to stop, but they didn't. Markus then took his own life less than 30 minutes after the conversation began, the story stated. Sexual extortion The bill defines sexual extortion as any activity that involves threatening to release, exhibit or distribute the private images of another person for any the listed purposes: • To compel another person to perform any act or refrain from performing any act • To induce the other person to commit a criminal offense • To obtain additional private images from the other person • To obtain anything of value from the other person. For general offenses, sexual extortion is a third-degree felony punishable by up to three years in prison. If the offender has a previous conviction for sexual extortion, the crime is enhanced to a second-degree felony punishable by up to eight years in prison. If the offender has two or more previous convictions for sexual extortion or the person was in a protected class such as those under 18, elderly person or disabled adult, the crime is enhanced to a first-degree felony punishable by up to 11 years in prison. Aggravated sexual extortion Sexual extortion is enhanced to an aggravated offense if the conduct causes great bodily harm or death to the victim. It is charged as a third-degree felony punishable by up to three years in prison. If the offender has a previous conviction for sexual extortion, the crime is enhanced to a second-degree felony punishable by up to eight years in prison. If the offender has two or more previous convictions for sexual extortion or the person was in a protected class such as those under 18, elderly person or disabled adult, the crime is enhanced to a first-degree felony punishable by up to 11 years in prison. Additionally, the court may impose an extra up to 10 years in prison for these offenses.