A bill proposed by a Butler state representative that is supported by the county’s district attorney could help protect state residents from a crime on the rise that is aimed at humiliating its victims.

The FBI considers “sextortion” a serious crime and defines it as a person threatening to distribute another person’s private or sensitive material if they don’t provide them with something in return. Often, the perpetrator is seeking images of a sexual nature, sexual favors or money.

In other words, sextortion is blackmail of a particularly egregious nature.

State Rep. Tedd Nesbit has proposed a bill that would create a new charge under state law that would be known as sexual extortion. Those attempting sextortion could face everything from misdemeanor to felony charges, depending on the ages of the victim and perpetrator. The bill — a bipartisan piece of legislation that was co-sponsored by Rep. Joanna McClinton — is expected to be voted on this week in the state’s House of Representatives judiciary committee. If it passes, it would move on to a general vote.

Nesbit, McClinton and Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger have said the bill could make it easier to punish those who sexually extort others. Currently, state law makes it difficult to charge people with such a crime. The DA used an example of a man who had tried to use nude photographs of a woman to blackmail her into going on a date with him. Under current law, he was only able to be charged with attempting to sell obscene materials, even though the man wasn’t actually selling anything. Under Nesbit’s bill, the man would have faced a specific charge of sexual extortion.

“We want to catch the law up to technology and stop this crime,” McClinton said. “The current extortion statute only relates to money.”

According to Thorn, an international anti-human trafficking organization that focuses on combating the sexual exploitation of children, a total 40 percent of victims of sextortion met their blackmailers online, while 60 percent of victims knew their perpetrators before that person threatened them. And during 45 percent of sextortion incidents, the blackmailers carried out their threats by releasing material that is damaging to the victim.

The most disturbing statistic of the crime is that 71 percent of cases involve victims under the age of 18, according to a Brookings study.

Sextortion is a traumatic experience for its victims. It humiliates them, possibly causes problems at work, frequently targets children and in some instances leads to other forms of sexual abuse.

We agree with the bill’s sponsors and the DA that it’s a vital piece of legislation, and we urge the House to pass it.

— NCD