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 North Carolina, 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 state laws. North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS) § 14-190.5A addresses 'Disclosure of Private Images,' which is similar to what is commonly referred to as revenge pornography. This law makes it illegal to disclose an image of another person with the intent to coerce, harass, intimidate, demean, humiliate, or cause financial loss to the depicted person, and where the depicted person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Additionally, individuals involved in sextortion may be charged under NCGS § 14-118.4, which covers extortion, or under laws related to cyberstalking, harassment, or other computer-related crimes. An attorney can provide specific guidance on how these laws may apply to a case of sextortion.