House Bill 1196

AN ACT TO CREATE "WALKER'S LAW" WHICH CREATES THE OFFENSE OF SEXUAL EXTORTION AND AGGRAVATED SEXUAL EXTORTION; TO DEFINE NECESSARY TERMS; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 97-3-82, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE CRIME OF EXTORTION, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act may be known and cited as "Walker's Law."

SECTION 2. The following words and phrases shall have the meanings described in this section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) "Adult" means a person eighteen (18) years or older.

(b) "Minor" means any person under eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the alleged offense.

(c) "Great bodily injury" means bodily injury which causes a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ.

(d) "Private image" means an image depicting sexually explicit nudity, sexual activity, sexual conduct as defined in Section 97-29-64, sexually explicit conduct as defined in Section 97-5-31, or sexual intercourse as defined in Section 97-3-65.

(e) "Image" means a photograph, film, videotape, recording, live transmission, digital or computer-generated visual depiction, or any other reproduction made by electronic, mechanical, or other means.

(f) "Electronic mail" means the transmission of information or communication by the use of the Internet, a computer, a facsimile machine, a pager, a cellular telephone, a video recorder or other electronic means sent to a person identified by a unique address or address number and received by that person.

(g) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writings, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature, transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, computer, electromagnetic, photoelectric or photo-optical system.

(h) "Disclose" means exhibit, transfer, publicize, distribute, or reproduce.

(i) "Vulnerable person" has the same meaning as in Section 43-47-5.

SECTION 3. A person commits the offense of sexual extortion if the person intentionally, including the use of electronic mail or electronic communication, threatens to release, exhibit, or distribute a private image of another in order to compel or attempt to compel the victim to do any act or refrain from doing any act against his or her will, with the intent to obtain an additional private image or anything else of value. Except as otherwise provided in this act for a minor, a person convicted of sexual extortion shall be imprisoned:

(a) Not more than five (5) years for a first offense;

(b) Not more than ten (10) years for a second offense; or

SECTION 4. (1) A person commits the offense of aggravated sexual extortion if the person intentionally, including the use of electronic mail or electronic communication, threatens to release, exhibit, or distribute a private image of another in order to compel or attempt to compel the victim to do any act or refrain from doing any act against his or her will, with the intent to obtain an additional private image or anything else of value and either:

(a) The victim is a minor or vulnerable person, and the person convicted of sexual extortion is an adult; or

(b) The victim suffers great bodily injury or death, and the appropriate court finds beyond a reasonable doubt that the sexual extortion of the victim was the proximate cause of the great bodily injury or death.

(2) A person, except as otherwise provided in this act for a minor, convicted of aggravated sexual extortion shall be imprisoned not more than twenty (20) years.

SECTION 5. If the person convicted under this act is a minor, then the person shall be guilty of the misdemeanor offense of sexual extortion and shall be sentenced by the youth court. No minor shall be convicted of a felony offense of sexual extortion under the provisions of this act. The court may order behavioral health counseling from an appropriate agency or provider as a condition of sentencing.

SECTION 6. For the purposes of venue under the provisions of this section, any violation of this section may be prosecuted in the county in which the communication originated, the county in which the communication was made, the county in which the communication was received, or the county in which any act in execution or furtherance of the scheme occurred.

SECTION 7. Section 97-3-82, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

97-3-82. (1) For the purposes of this section the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) "Obtain" means: (i) in relation to property, to bring about a transfer or purported transfer of a legal interest in, or physical possession of, the property, whether to the obtainer or another; or (ii) in relation to labor or service, or any reward, favor, or advantage of any kind, to secure performance thereof; or attempt to do (i) or (ii).

(b) "Property" means anything of value, including, but not limited to, real estate, tangible and intangible personal property, contract rights, choses-in-action, reputation of a person and other interests in or claims to wealth, admission or transportation tickets, captured or domestic animals, food and drink, electric or other power.

(c) "Property of another" includes property in which any person other than the actor has an interest which the actor is not privileged to infringe, regardless of the fact that the actor also has an interest in the property and regardless of the fact that the other person might be precluded from civil recovery because the property was used in an unlawful transaction or was subject to forfeiture as contraband. Property in possession of the actor shall not be deemed property of another who has only a security interest therein, even if legal title is in the creditor pursuant to a conditional sales contract or other security agreement.

(d) "Public official" means any person elected or appointed to any office, position or employment whereby the person is paid a fee or salary by the State of Mississippi or any political subdivision thereof or any agency or subdivision of the government of the United States, regardless of the source or sources of the funds for the payment.

(2) A person is guilty of extortion if he purposely obtains or attempts to obtain property of another or any reward, favor, or advantage of any kind by threatening to inflict bodily injury on any person or by committing or threatening to commit any other criminal offense, violation of civil statute, or the public or private revelation of information not previously in the public domain for the purpose of humiliating or embarrassing the other person, without regard to whether the revelation otherwise constitutes a violation of a specific statute.

(3) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this subsection, any person, whether a public official or not, who commits the offense of extortion of property or things of value of another under the value of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six (6) months.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this subsection, any person, whether a public official or not, who commits the offense of extortion of property or things of value of another of the value of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or more shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not to exceed fifteen (15) years.

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this subsection, any person, whether a public official or not, who commits the offense of extortion in order to obtain any intangible reward, favor or advantage to which no monetary value is normally given shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not to exceed fifteen (15) years.

(d) Any public official acting in his official capacity or under color of his office who commits the offense of extortion in order to obtain any intangible reward, favor or advantage to which no monetary value is normally given, or who commits the offense of extortion of tangible property, regardless of the value of the property, shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not less than two (2) nor more than twenty (20) years.

SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force on July 1, 2024.