MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin lawmakers want to crack down on sextortion, a form of online sexual exploitation that’s on the rise.
Bradyn’s Bill, named in memory of 15-year-old Bradyn Bohn, would make sextortion a standalone crime in Wisconsin, with a penalty of up to six years in prison for most cases and up to 60 years in prison if a victim takes their own life as a result of the crime.
“If Bradyn, in his death, can save even one more kid, that makes it a little less heavy,” Bohn’s mother, Brittney Bird, said.
Bohn, of Kronenwetter, Wisconsin, died by suicide earlier this year after being financially sextorted online. Scammers are increasingly targeting teenage boys with sextortion, according to the FBI, often using fake accounts to solicit sexually explicit images and then using those images to blackmail their victims.
Watch: Mother pushes Wisconsin to make sextortion a standalone crime following son's suicide
The crime of sextortion also includes using coercion to force a victim to send sexually explicit photos or perform sexual acts.
“This bill sends a message to those who would try and do this to stay out of Wisconsin and stay away from our kids,” Republican Rep. Brent Jacobson said.
The state Assembly passed the bill in June with unanimous support. It still needs to be passed by the Senate and signed by the governor.
“We will get this over the finish line,” Republican Sen. Jesse James promised Bohn’s parents at a committee hearing on Wednesday.
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