Defined by the FBI as coercing someone to share explicit images of themselves, then using the image to blackmail them, sextortion is on the rise in Utah. In the last five years, instances of extortion and blackmail have dramatically increased in the Beehive State — according to data from the Utah Department of Public Safety, there were 152 cases in 2019, Utah News Dispatch reports. Since then, the state has seen an increase of about 140 extortion and blackmail cases each year, on average. The state reported 270 in 2020, 346 in 2021, 512 in 2022, and 714 in 2023 — a record high. Data for 2024 is still preliminary, but it’s possible Utah could see another record year, with 346 cases of extortion or blackmail as of August. The problem is so pervasive, especially in the Mountain West, that earlier this year the FBI field office that covers Utah, Montana and Idaho put out a warning to parents and teens after it started receiving dozens of reports of sextortion each month. Often the predators pretend to be young girls online who convince the victim, mostly young men or teenage boys, to send them sexually explicit images, the FBI says. Once they comply, the predator will threaten to share the picture with the victim’s family, school or work, unless they send them money. That’s what happened to Jake George in Utah. As soon as he sent the scammer a photograph, they threatened to share it publicly. “They were on him,” his mother said Thursday. They told him to get in his car, and drive somewhere to wire them money. They texted him through his entire drive — “Are you there yet? Are you there yet? We’re going to send that picture. You better hurry. Send us a picture of that money.” George sent $300 to a woman in the Philippines, then asked them to delete the picture. But the scammers kept asking for more. They kept pressing until George eventually took his life.
Under Utah law, sexual extortion is already a felony if the perpetrator is an adult, defined as the act of forcing someone to engage in sexual conduct or to produce or distribute “any image, video, or other recording of any individual naked or engaged in sexually explicit conduct,” with the intent to obtain something of value. Lawmakers could be looking to strengthen that law this upcoming session, although no bill files have been opened yet. Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, said he wanted George to come back and talk to the larger Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, telling her “there’s more that we can do.” That could include increasing awareness in the public schools so that kids know not to fall victim to a similar scheme. It could also mean bolstering resources for investigators, or changing the way sextortion is prosecuted. In 2023, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed “Gavin’s Law,” named after the son of state Rep. Brandon Guffey’s son, who died by suicide after being targeted in a sextortion scheme. The law makes sexual extortion a felony, defined as blackmailing someone using sexually explicit photos or videos. If the victim suffers injury or death directly related to the crime, it becomes an aggravated felony, which carries up to 20 years in prison.
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