WEST virginia legislature

2018 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

Senate Bill 327

By Senators Weld, Boso, Gaunch, Cline, and Drennan

[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary; reported on January 26, 2018]

A BILL to amend and reenact §61-2-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the crime of extortion; providing that extorting anything of value, including sexual contact, sexual intercourse, or an image of an intimate body part qualifies as extortion and subjects a person to a criminal penalty; defining terms; and establishing criminal penalties.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2. CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON.

§61-2-13. Extortion or attempted extortion by threats; penalties.

(a) If any A person threaten who threatens injury to the character, person, or property of another person, or to the character, person, or property of his wife or her spouse or child, or to accuse accuses him or her or them of any a criminal offense, and thereby extort obtains anything of value money, pecuniary benefit, or any bond, note or other evidence of debt, or other consideration, he shall be or she is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be confined in the penitentiary a correctional facility not less than one nor more than five years. And if any A person make who makes such threat of injury or accusation of an offense as herein set forth in this section, but fail thereby fails to extort obtain anything of value money, pecuniary benefit, or any bond, note or other evidence of debt, or other consideration, he shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail not less than two nor more than 12 months and fined not less than $50 nor more than $500.

(b) For purposes of this article, “consideration” includes sexual acts as defined in §61-8B-1 of this code, and images of intimate parts defined in §61-8-28a of this code.