Braden's Law: How Ohio is strengthening punishments for sextortion

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law that will make sextortion a felony in Ohio, years after a 15-year-old Olentangy High School football player took his life after falling victim to the scam.

DeWine signed House Bill 531, known as “Braden’s Law,” on Wednesday, surrounded by Braden Markus’ family and friends. The Olentangy student died by suicide in October 2021, after falling victim to sextortion -- short for sexual extortion -- which occurs when someone is blackmailed over intimate images. 

Introduced by Reps. Brian Lorenz (R-Powell) and Beth Lear (R-Galena) in May, the new law will make sextortion a third-degree felony. The charge could be upgraded to a second-degree or first-degree felony depending on a variety of factors, including if the victim is a minor or disabled, and if the perpetrator is a repeat offender. 

In Ohio, a third-degree felony carries a prison sentence of nine months to three years, and a judge may impose a maximum fine of $10,000. A first-degree felony is punishable by three to 11 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $20,000. 

“This legislation may have been inspired out of a tragic situation, but now Ohio will have a law that will make online perpetrators think twice about their activities,” Lorenz said. “I’m grateful that Gov. DeWine has seen the need for this legislation and how it can help families in the future.”

The law will also provide immunity from prosecution to victims who sent explicit images, and allow parents or guardians to gain access to a device belonging to a deceased minor within 30 days. Markus’ family was unable to gain access to his phone for about a year after his death, according to Lorenz. 

“His parents were unable to get into his phone to find out why he did what he did,” Lorenz previously told NBC4. “It was a year of just complete agony for that family.”

The law will provide immunity to telecommunication carriers from any criminal or civil penalties that could arise from providing access to the minor’s device. Failure to give access after 30 days will result in increasing fines for the involved company, starting at $1,000 per day and going up to as much as $10,000 per day depending on the length of the delay. Those fines will be deposited into Ohio's consumer protection enforcement fund.

An earlier version of the bill would have also made victims and their families eligible for compensation through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, but that portion was ultimately removed by lawmakers. 

Before gaining DeWine's signature, the bill passed the House and Senate unanimously and did not have any known opponents. The Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Buckeye State Sheriffs Association and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted submitted testimony in support of the bill. 

“This is a very large issue in the lives of our children,” Husted said in June testimony. “They are being targeted online and social media companies enable it with their algorithms. They allow our children to be targeted by adult sexual predators, and we must fight back. When Ohio takes action on an issue and passes legislation, the rest of the nation pays attention.”

The FBI has called sextortion a “growing threat” targeting minors. Often, minor victims will believe they are talking to someone their own age, whom they send revealing photos. The criminal will then threaten to publish the content if the victim does not send them more images or money.

In Markus’ situation, he was contacted by an individual on social media, who sent him revealing photos posing as a 15-year-old girl. The user convinced Markus to send photos back, then the interaction quickly escalated. 

Immediately after receiving the photo of Markus, the user demanded $1,800 and threatened to release the photo on social media if Markus did not comply. Just 27 minutes after being contacted by the blackmailer, Markus died by suicide. 

Ohio now joins over a dozen states that have laws against sexual extortion. The law will take effect on April 8.