‘Filed Case!’ Proposed Legislation Targets ‘Sextortion’ Following Death of Delaware County Teen, Backed by GOP

DEBARYLIFE – Bills backed by Republicans in Congress would make it more punishable in Ohio for those who solicit others to post obscene images online and then use those images as leverage for blackmail.

The bill bears the name of Braden Markus, a 15-year-old Delaware County resident who committed suicide in October 2021 after requesting pictures from someone on Instagram that he believed to be a girl. After 27 minutes, Braden committed suicide after receiving a $1,800 demand to keep the pictures secret.

Sen. Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) stated, “It’s pretty much illegal to use someone else’s photo or engage in sextortion in Ohio.”

Sextortion would become a felony punishable by jail time under Brenner’s measure and a related one in the House. He said that funds would be added to a fund for crime victims to support counseling for victims.

Brenner said that this would also offer parents of deceased youngsters digital access rights and immunity to victims who share the photographs.

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“The other portion of the bill focuses specifically on those criminal elements, which we hope will serve as a deterrent for anyone considering doing this,” Brenner said. “It is specifically intended to target minors.”

In a statement posted on his official House website, Rep. Brian Lorenz (R-Powell), one of the bill’s supporters, noted that Braden was a talented student who was misled and driven to the point where he thought he had no choice but to terminate his life.

We need to make sexual extortionists reconsider before committing this crime in Ohio, and we can never allow anything similar to occur again.

According to the FBI, at least 20 people have died by suicide since Braden’s death, and 19 kids are the victims of sextortion schemes every day.