CLEVELAND (WJW) — Governor Mike DeWine is expected on Wednesday to sign a bill into law that will make sextortion a felony.
In December, both the Ohio House and Senate passed a bill named for Braden Markus, an Olentangy High School student, who was a victim of sextortion. Braden died by suicide in 2021. Sextortion is an online crime that happens when a suspect poses as a same-aged peer to convince the victim to share sexually explicit pictures and then tries to extort money from the victim.
The bill was sponsored by Representatives Brian Lorenz and Beth Lear.
“This was needed because what we are seeing is these perpetrators going from one kid to another kid,” Lorenz told the Fox 8 I-Team. “This makes sexual extortion a third-degree felony and if someone dies through the act of the sextortion, it raises it to a second-degree felony.”
The bill also mandates cell phone companies give parents of deceased minors access to their children’s phones within 30 days of their children’s deaths. Lorenz said Braden’s parents waited ten months to get access to his phone, which contained information about the sextortion scam.
Streetsboro police said they are continuing to investigate the sextortion case of James Woods. Woods, a student at Streetsboro High School, died by suicide in 2022. He too, was a victim of sextortion. Police believe the suspect in Woods’ case lives overseas and they are working with federal officials on the matter.