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 Vermont, sextortion is not recognized as a distinct criminal offense under a specific statute titled 'sextortion.' However, such conduct is typically prosecuted under existing laws related to extortion, sexual exploitation, and privacy violations. Vermont's laws against revenge pornography, which may be relevant to sextortion cases, are found under 13 V.S.A. § 2606, prohibiting the disclosure of sexually explicit images without consent. Extortion, which can encompass threats to release sensitive material unless something of value is given, is criminalized under 13 V.S.A. § 1701. Additionally, Vermont may address sextortion under its laws against voyeurism (13 V.S.A. § 2605) or other related offenses in the penal code. An attorney can provide specific guidance on how these laws might apply to a case of sextortion and the potential criminal charges that could result from such conduct.