N.J. going after ‘sextortion’ as parents sound alarm on predators who target minors on social media

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Date: 

February 27, 2023

Jennifer Becker, Legal Momentum's Legal Director, was quoted in NJ.com about her work to pass legislation in New Jersey that would make sextortion (sexual extortion) a third-degree crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a $15,000 fine for convicted perpetrators in the state.

"New Jersey, like many other states, has rules on the books that could be used to prosecute people who commit extortion. But advocates for the bill argue it could amount to a slap on the wrist and doesn’t take into account the seriousness of the crime.

“By putting it in the sex crimes chapter there’s the opportunity for other types of sentencing,” Jennifer Becker, legal director for LegalMomentum, which helped New Jersey and 17 other states where sextortion has already been added to criminal statute build the legislation, said.

“It was more about the ability for the offense to fit the motivation and the conduct and treat it as the sex crime that it is,” Becker said."

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