The criminal offense of sextortion is a form of blackmail or extortion and is committed when a person threatens to publish private nude, pornographic, or explicit photos, videos, or images of another person’s body or sexual activity unless the person provides something of value—such as money, sexual activity, more sexual images, or the performance of sexual acts (often online using webcams).

Sextortion laws vary from state to state and are sometimes part of a state’s laws regarding revenge pornography, blackmail, extortion, bribery, or cyberstalking and are prosecuted under those or other criminal offenses rather than as a specific offense called sextortion. These laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code—and are sometimes titled with descriptive names such as The Unlawful Disclosure or Promotion of Intimate Visual Material.

In Kansas, sextortion is not recognized as a distinct criminal offense under a specific statute titled 'sextortion.' However, individuals who engage in sextortion can be prosecuted under various existing Kansas statutes that criminalize similar conduct. For instance, Kansas law includes statutes against blackmail (K.S.A. 21-5428), breach of privacy (K.S.A. 21-6101), and sexual extortion (K.S.A. 21-5508), which can encompass acts of threatening to release explicit images unless a demand is met. Additionally, Kansas has a law against revenge pornography, known as the 'Nonconsensual Dissemination of Private Sexual Images' (K.S.A. 21-6101), which makes it illegal to distribute or threaten to distribute private sexual images without consent. These laws collectively address the behaviors typically involved in sextortion, and perpetrators can be charged and prosecuted accordingly. It is important for individuals facing such situations to consult with an attorney to understand the specific charges and legal remedies available in Kansas.