KRS § 531.125 — KY Code / Title L / Chapter 531 / Section 531.125
531.125 Sexual extortion
Status: in_force

531.125 Sexual extortion.

(1) A person is guilty of sexual extortion when he or she communicates, through any

means, a threat to:

(a) Injure the property or reputation of another person or commit violence against

another person with the intent to coerce that person to:

1. Engage in sexual conduct; or

2. Produce, provide, or distribute any matter depicting that person

engaging in sexual conduct or in a state of nudity or seminudity; or

(b) Distribute any matter depicting another person engaged in sexual conduct or

in a state of nudity or seminudity with the intent to coerce that person to:

1. Engage in sexual conduct;

2. Produce, provide, or distribute any matter depicting that person

engaging in sexual conduct or in a state of nudity or seminudity;

3. Provide the payment of money, property, services, or any other thing of

value to the perpetrator; or

4. Do any act or refrain from doing any act against his or her will.

(2) Sexual extortion is a Class A misdemeanor unless:

(a) The victim, as a result of the commission of the offense:

1. Engages in sexual conduct;

2. Produces, provides, or distributes any matter depicting himself or herself

engaging in sexual conduct or in a state of nudity or seminudity;

3. Provides the payment of money, property, services, or any other thing of

value to the offender;

4. Does any act or refrains from doing any act against his or her will; or

5. Suffers serious physical injury;

in which case it is a Class D felony; or

(b) 1. The person:

a. Was previously convicted of any sexual offense under KRS

Chapter 510 or a sex crime as defined in KRS 17.500;

b. Occupied a position of special trust or a position of authority as

those terms are defined in KRS 532.045 in relation to the victim;

c. Used or threatened the use of a deadly weapon or dangerous

instrument against the victim during the commission of the

offense; or

d. Is an adult and the victim is a minor, and there is greater than a

four (4) year difference in age between them; or

2. The offense was committed during the course of a kidnapping as

described in KRS 509.040;

in which case the person shall be charged one (1) level higher than the level

otherwise specified in this subsection.

(3) If the victim attempts suicide resulting in serious physical injury or dies by suicide

within ninety (90) days of the commission of the offense as a proximate result of

the trauma the victim experienced during or following the commission of the

offense, the person may be prosecuted for homicide under KRS Chapter 507 or

assault under KRS Chapter 508.

(4) This section shall not apply to:

(a) Images involving voluntary nudity or sexual conduct in public, commercial

settings, or in a place where a person does not have a reasonable expectation

of privacy;

(b) Disclosures made in the public interest, including the reporting of unlawful

conduct, or lawful and common practices of law enforcement, criminal

reporting, corrections, legal proceedings, or medical treatment;

(c) Disclosures of materials that constitute a matter of public concern; or

(d) When acting in its capacity as a provider of those services, a:

1. Broadband internet access service provider;

2. Telecommunications service provider, an interconnected VoIP service

provider, or a mobile service provider as defined in 47 U.S.C. sec. 153;

3. Commercial mobile service provider as defined in 47 U.S.C. sec. 332; or

4. Cable operator as defined in 47 U.S.C. sec. 522; or

(e) An interactive computer service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. sec. 230, related to

content provided by a user of the interactive computer service.