Ohio criminalizes sextortion after death of Olentangy High School student

The law signed Wednesday by Gov. Mike DeWine makes makes sexual extortion a third-degree felony, with harsher penalties possible

Sextortion schemes that often target minors and caused the death of a suburban Columbus high school student are now illegal in Ohio.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed legislation Wednesday named for Olentangy High School football player Braden Markus that criminalizes sexual extortion, which occurs when someone blackmails another person over the release of private images. Ohio lawmakers passed the bill last month, more than three years after Braden fell victim to sextortion and killed himself.

“We can’t bring Braden back, but what we can do is something in his name today and say we’re going to make a difference,” DeWine said during a signing ceremony at the Ohio Statehouse, surrounded by Braden’s family and friends.

House Bill 531 makes sexual extortion a third-degree felony, with harsher penalties if the victims are minors, seniors or people with disabilities. When sentencing offenders, courts must consider whether the victim died by suicide or suffered “serious physical, psychological, or economic harm.”

The law also makes it easier for parents to access their child’s digital assets if they die as a minor. Rep. Beth Lear, R-Galena, who co-sponsored the bill, said Braden’s family wondered for months what happened to him because they couldn’t get into his cell phone.

Federal authorities received over 13,000 reports of online sexual extortion involving minors − primarily boys − from October 2021 to March 2023, according to the FBI. In Braden’s case, someone posing as high school girl on social media asked Braden for intimate photos and then demanded $1,800 so they wouldn’t be published. He died a half hour later.

“I’m hoping that there’s a deterrent,” Braden’s mother, Jennifer Markus, told the Columbus Dispatch last month. “Knowing that this law is there, that they will quit preying on our kids.”

An early version of the bill would have made victims and their families eligible for compensation through the attorney general’s office, but lawmakers axed that provision. A spokesperson for Attorney General Dave Yost did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Donovan Hunt contributed to this report.

Haley BeMiller covers state government and politics for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.