Delaware County Review

House Bill 531, which establishes the offense of sexual extortion as a third-degree felony, is now awaiting the Governor's signature. State Senator Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) has expressed his support for this legislation and introduced related Senate Bill 263.

The bill was inspired by a tragic incident involving Olentangy High School sophomore Braden Markus. On October 17, 2021, Braden was deceived on social media by someone pretending to be a 15-year-old girl. The individual sent inappropriate photos and convinced Braden to reciprocate. Subsequently, they demanded $1,800 with threats to release the photos online. Within just 27 minutes of this exchange, Braden died by suicide.

Senator Brenner stated: “Minors are victims of online sextortion thousands of times every year. Olentangy student Braden Markus is a victim and his death will not be in vain. It is our job as legislators to stop it. HB 531 and my companion bill SB 263 are a great step in the right direction to increase penalties for sextortion. I am glad I can be a part of correcting this wrong and working to stop it in the future.”