TRENTON, NJ – Sextortion is legal in New Jersey. It’s hard to believe, but using sexually explicit photos to coerce another person is not a crime.
Now, Republicans in Trenton battling Democrats on various issues at the Statehouse are hoping Democrats will stop playing politics and support their bill. They have convinced Assembly Democrats to vote in favor of the bill. Now the bill heads to the Democrat-led Senate.
Having passed unanimously in the full Assembly Monday, Assemblywoman Aura Dunn’s bill establishing the crime of sexual extortion, a threat to share nude or explicit images and videos of victims, will now be sent to the governor. Crimes involving sextortion would be punishable by fines and imprisonment.
“Crimes have evolved in the digital age, but the state’s statutes haven’t exactly kept up. This law will give prosecutors the necessary tools to punish sexual predators who exploit our most vulnerable populations. Victims of sexual extortion deserve to know they are not alone and justice will be served in New Jersey,” Dunn (R-Morris) said.
In New Jersey, sexual assault, harassment, endangering child welfare, and distributing child [censored]ography are criminalized, which can be applied to certain cases of sextortion. A new bill introduced by Dunn (A343) would make it unlawful to threaten to harm an individual of any age by exposing them to harm. No matter whether explicit material is actually shared, it is a crime, but penalties would increase if the victim is a minor or a developmentally disabled adult.
“Sexual extortion is a growing threat and addressing it legislatively is a promise to our communities that we as public servants are committed to stopping these horrible crimes,” Dunn added.
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the number of sextortion reports doubled between 2019 and 2021. Offenders exploit victims to get more explicit content, money, or lure them for in-person sexual contact. Last year, the FBI said that more than 3,000 minors, primarily boys, were targeted in financial sextortion schemes. More than a dozen of the victims committed suicide.
“These predators scam, shame and destroy lives and families. Victims don’t know how to cope with the lifelong threat that they could be exposed at any moment by someone hiding behind a keyboard,” Dunn said. “So, in addition to parents having conversations with their children about online safety, this measure would add an extra layer of protection by punishing criminals to the fullest extent of the law.”
In accordance with the provisions of the bill, anyone who commits sexual extortion faces imprisonment for three to five years and a fine of up to $15,000. The crime becomes a second-degree crime when the victim is a minor or an adult with a developmental disability and the presumption is one of five to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000.