A new bill proposed this week by Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Rep. Susan W. Brooks (R-IN) would establish sexual extortion as a unique federal crime. The language of the bill covers extortion that takes place over the internet, the postal service, and other media, but the lawmakers acknowledged that the vast majority of the targeted cases take place online.

"This bill will provide victims, law enforcement officers and prosecutors with more support and resources to prevent predators from continuing to victimize people online," said Brooks.

In April, a Department of Justice report singled out online sexual extortion as a particularly damaging form of online abuse. Perpetrators typically target girls between the ages of 10 and 17, according to the report, conducting conversations online to build trust, asking for sexual photos, then using those photos as basis for blackmail. Analysis of 43 cases found that two of the targets committed suicide, while 10 others attempted suicide.

The bill would make it a federal crime to coerce a person to produce sexually explicit content, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The bill also makes it a crime to use sexually explicit content to extort for personal gain, punishable by up to seven years in prison. In many cases, the crimes would also be covered by existing extortion statutes.

Earlier this year, Rep. Clark introduced an anti-swatting bill, and was subsequently targeted by a swatting attack.