Rep. Pamela Carter’s HB 2666 upgrades adult-on-teen sexual extortion to a class 2 felony and requires consecutive sentencing
Contributed Article/Courtesy Arizona House of Representatives
PHOENIX – State Representative Pamela Carter recently announced the Arizona House passed House Bill 2666, bipartisan legislation that increases penalties when adult offenders target teens online for sexual extortion.
Sexual extortion involves coercion through threats, often tied to the creation or distribution of sexual images or recordings, to force a victim into further exploitation or compliance.
“Sexual extortion is hitting Arizona teens hard, and the predators behind it know exactly what they’re doing,” said Representative Pamela Carter. “They use platforms like Instagram and Discord to pressure kids for explicit images, then threaten to expose them unless they pay or comply. HB 2666 raises the penalty when an adult targets a 15-, 16-, or 17-year-old because this is exploitation, plain and simple. If you prey on teens for money or sexual favors, you should face a class 2 felony and mandatory consecutive prison time. No probation. No shortcuts. No easy way out.”
HB 2666 increases the penalty for sexual extortion when the offender is 18 years of age or older and knows or should have known the victim is 15, 16, or 17 years of age by reclassifying the offense from a class 3 felony to a class 2 felony. The bill also requires a sentence in those cases to be consecutive to any other sentence imposed for sexual extortion.
Current law remains in place for younger victims. If the victim is under 15 years of age, sexual extortion is already a class 2 felony punishable under the state’s dangerous crimes against children sentencing provisions.
HB 2666 now moves to the Arizona Senate for consideration.
