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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 19, 2019 09:09 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Kristine C. Howard |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Co-Sponsorship: Creating the new offense of Sexual Extortion |
| The U.S Department of Justice defines sextortion as a form of sexual exploitation where the offender uses coercion and threats to compel the victim to produce sexual images or videos engaging in sexual acts. Sometimes the offender already possesses nude or sexual images of the victim, and is threatening to release them if the victim will not do as the offender commands. This heinous act often falls through the cracks of our current criminal justice system, and that is why I am introducing a bill which would create a new offense called “sexual extortion.” Pennsylvania needs to keep pace in a digital age that often facilitates certain types of sextortion. The Department of Justice recently reported sextortion is “by far the most significantly growing threat to children.” In fact, one in four victims is 12 or younger, and two in three victims are girls under the age of 16. A 2015 FBI sextortion investigation found that offenders were specifically seeking out children they considered easy targets because of their demonstrated willingness to post personal content online and engage in live-streaming video activity, whether the content was sexually explicit or not. As several states have begun to enact their own sextortion laws, and as this crime grows in scope and more individuals are being victimized, Pennsylvania must address this serious sex crime. With that said, please join me in my effort to criminalize this act and to protect our young children from harm. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Takesha Latham in my Harrisburg Office at (717) 783-4088. |