From staff reports
Clarion PASSAGES, a local agency committed to helping victims of sexual violence, is advising you that while sexual extortion, or “Sextortion,” is not a new crime, the advent of digital technology and the popularity of social media have made it easier than ever for people to force others into sexual acts.
Sextortion can manifest in multiple ways; a landlord may withhold housing or threaten eviction if their tenant does not submit to providing sexual photos.
Recently, in Bedford County, former District Attorney Bill Higgins was charged with obstruction of justice, official oppression by denying rights, reckless endangerment of another person, and intimidating a witness after allegations surfaced that he sought lighter sentences for female defendants who had sex with him.
All of these cases represent a situation in which a power dynamic has been exploited for sexual gain. We also see sextortion in so-called “revenge porn cases.”
In these cases, a former-intimate partner will threaten to share previously-consensual intimate photos or texts as a method of coercion. Often, victims feel powerless in these cases, as the images were once freely-given.
In all cases of sextortion, a victim is caught in a dire catch-22; they either submit to the sexual act or face a loss of reputation, service, or other thing of value.
While sextortion is considered a crime in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Texas, and Utah, Pennsylvania currently has no law officially criminalizing sextortion and the existing laws we have against sexual violence are often unable to address the nuances of these cases in the modern, digital age.
These loopholes and lapses often allow perpetrators to go unpunished or escape with light sentences. Not only does this make us all more vulnerable to victimization, it also prohibits victims from getting the justice they deserve.
This legislation, Senate Bill 1134, was formally introduced in April and unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee to move out of committee and into full senate consideration in early June.
Please join Passages in urging our local representations to end sextortion and support SB 1134.
If you or someone you know believes you have been the victim of sextortion, but don’t know where to begin, PASSAGES can help. Call them by using their 24-hour toll free hotline at (800) 793-3620.