Ohio lawmakers passed a bill Thursday night that will make sextortion a felony in the state.
House Bill 531 was named after Braden Markus, a 15-year-old boy who went to Olentangy High School. He was the victim of a financial sextortion scam three years ago.
In October 2023, he was talking to someone he thought was a teenage girl on Instagram. The person Braden was talking to send him pictures of a high school girl and then harassed him for pictures of himself. Braden gave in, and the scammer made a video using his image.
