Kansas
Kansas Blackmail and Extortion Laws: Penalties (2026)
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited October 17, 2026). · 16 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
Blackmail is a named crime in Kansas. K.S.A. 21-5428, as amended effective July 1, 2026, makes it a felony to gain or try to gain anything of value, or to compel or try to compel someone to act against their will (other than sexual contact, sexual intercourse or conduct of a sexual nature), by threatening to make accusations or statements that would expose a person to public ridicule, contempt or degradation, or to disseminate an image, video or other recording that was obtained in violation of the breach-of-privacy statute or that shows an identifiable person nude or engaged in sexual activity; a narrower crime named extortion (K.S.A. 21-6501) covers protection and price-fixing demands on businesses; other threats used to obtain property are charged as theft "by threat" under K.S.A. 21-5801(a)(3), and threats used to obtain sexual conduct, sexual images or, since Caleb's Law, money for an image are sexual extortion under K.S.A. 21-5515.
Information last verified on October 17, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Kansas criminal statutes on blackmail (K.S.A. 21-5428, as amended by 2026 Session Laws ch. 114), extortion of businesses (21-6501), sexual extortion (21-5515, as amended by 2026 Session Laws ch. 45), theft by threat (21-5801(a)(3)) and related threat offenses, with the sentencing and fine rules in K.S.A. 21-6602, 21-6611 and 21-6804. It does not cover what to do if you are being threatened or how to get images removed (see our sextortion scams guide), sharing intimate images as its own offense (see revenge porn laws by state), federal offenses (covered on our extortion and blackmail laws by state hub), or city and county ordinances.
What is blackmail in Kansas?
2026 Session Laws of Kansas ch. 114 (H.B. 2479, sec. 5), effective July 1, 2026, rewrote K.S.A. 21-5428(a). It now states:
"Blackmail is intentionally gaining or attempting to gain anything of value or compelling or attempting to compel another to act against such person's will, excluding sexual contact, sexual intercourse or conduct that is of a sexual nature, by threatening to: (1) Communicate accusations or statements about any person that would subject such person or any other person to public ridicule, contempt or degradation; or (2) disseminate any image, video or other recording: (A) Obtained in violation of K.S.A. 21-6101(a)(6), and amendments thereto; or (B) of another identifiable person who is nude or engaged in sexual activity, including, but not limited to, any image, video or other recording that has been created, in whole or in part, altered or modified by artificial intelligence or any digital means to appear to depict or purport to depict such identifiable person, regardless of whether such identifiable person was involved in the creation of the original image, video or other recording."
Under 21-5428(c), "image, video or other recording" means "any photograph, film, video picture, digital or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical or other means." Some online copies of the statute still show the earlier text, which limited the image clause to material obtained in violation of 21-6101(a)(6) or (a)(8).
Several features of that text matter. The offense covers attempts, so it reaches a demand that does not succeed. It covers compelling someone to act against their will, not only gaining something of value, but compelling sexual contact, sexual intercourse or conduct of a sexual nature is excluded; threats used to obtain that conduct are addressed by the sexual extortion statute, K.S.A. 21-5515, covered below. The first threat clause is limited to accusations or statements that would subject a person to "public ridicule, contempt or degradation." The second covers threatening to disseminate an image, video or recording that was either obtained in violation of K.S.A. 21-6101(a)(6), the breach-of-privacy provision on recording or viewing another person's nude body or undergarments without that person's consent or knowledge, or that shows another identifiable person nude or engaged in sexual activity, including AI-made or altered depictions.
Theft by threat
Threats that fall outside the blackmail statute can still make the taking of property a crime. Under K.S.A. 21-5801(a)(3), theft includes "obtaining control over property or services, by threat," done "with intent to permanently deprive the owner of the possession, use or benefit of the owner's property or services."
The Kansas criminal code defines "threat" broadly in K.S.A. 21-5111(ff): "a communicated intent to inflict physical or other harm on any person or on property." Theft by threat is graded by the value of the property or services, like any other theft. An unsuccessful demand can also be charged as an attempt: under K.S.A. 21-5301, an attempt is "any overt act toward the perpetration of a crime done by a person who intends to commit such crime but fails in the perpetration thereof," and an attempt to commit a nondrug felony is generally ranked two severity levels below the completed crime. Our Kansas theft laws page covers the full theft grading.
Kansas blackmail and extortion penalties
| Offense | Statute | What it prohibits | Class | Statutory penalty range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackmail, threat to communicate accusations or statements | K.S.A. 21-5428(a)(1), (b)(1) | Gaining or trying to gain anything of value, or compelling or trying to compel an act, by threatening statements that would subject a person to public ridicule, contempt or degradation | Severity level 7, nonperson felony | Grid range 11 to 34 months, depending on criminal history; fine of up to $100,000 |
| Blackmail, threat to disseminate an image | K.S.A. 21-5428(a)(2), (b)(2) | Same, by threatening to disseminate an image, video or recording obtained in violation of 21-6101(a)(6), or of an identifiable person who is nude or engaged in sexual activity, including AI-made or altered depictions | Severity level 4, person felony | Grid range 38 to 172 months; fine of up to $300,000 |
| Sexual extortion, intent variants | K.S.A. 21-5515(a)(1)(A), (a)(2)(A), (d)(1) | Threats made with intent to coerce sexual conduct or sexual or nude images, or with intent to coerce a person to produce or provide anything of value by threatening to distribute a sexual or nude image | Severity level 7, person felony; level 6 when the offender is 18 or older and the victim is under 18 or a dependent adult | Level 7: 11 to 34 months; level 6: 17 to 46 months; fine of up to $100,000 |
| Sexual extortion, causing variants | K.S.A. 21-5515(a)(1)(B), (a)(2)(B), (d)(2) | Threats that cause a person to engage in that conduct, produce those images, or produce or provide anything of value | Severity level 4, person felony; level 3 when the offender is 18 or older and the victim is under 18 or a dependent adult | Level 4: 38 to 172 months; level 3: 55 to 247 months; fine of up to $300,000 |
| Aggravated sexual extortion causing great bodily harm | K.S.A. 21-5515(b), (e) | Sexual extortion resulting in great bodily harm, where the trier of fact finds the extortion was the proximate cause | Severity level 3, person felony | 55 to 247 months; fine of up to $300,000 |
| Aggravated sexual extortion causing death | K.S.A. 21-5515(c), (f) | Sexual extortion resulting in death, where the trier of fact finds the extortion was the proximate cause | Severity level 1, person felony | 147 to 653 months; fine of up to $300,000 |
| Theft by threat, $100,000 or more | K.S.A. 21-5801(a)(3), (b)(1) | Obtaining control over property or services by threat, with intent to permanently deprive | Severity level 5, nonperson felony | 31 to 136 months; fine of up to $300,000 |
| Extortion (business protection or price-fixing demands) | K.S.A. 21-6501 | Wrongfully demanding, soliciting or receiving anything of value from a person with a financial interest in a business by a threat or promise to diminish its competition, set its prices, or protect the business or the owner's person or family from violence or other unlawful harm | Severity level 7, nonperson felony | 11 to 34 months; fine of up to $100,000 |
| Theft by threat, $25,000 to under $100,000 | K.S.A. 21-5801(b)(2) | Same | Severity level 7, nonperson felony | 11 to 34 months; fine of up to $100,000 |
| Theft by threat, $1,500 to under $25,000 | K.S.A. 21-5801(b)(3) | Same | Severity level 9, nonperson felony | 5 to 17 months; fine of up to $100,000 |
| Theft by threat, under $1,500 (with listed exceptions) | K.S.A. 21-5801(b)(4) | Same | Class A nonperson misdemeanor | Up to 1 year in county jail; fine of up to $2,500 |
Under K.S.A. 21-6804(b), "Sentences expressed in the sentencing guidelines grid for nondrug crimes represent months of imprisonment." The month ranges in the table run from the lowest grid box to the highest for that severity level; where a person falls depends on their criminal history. Fine ceilings come from K.S.A. 21-6611: up to $300,000 for felonies at severity levels 1 through 5, up to $100,000 for levels 6 through 10, and up to $2,500 for a class A misdemeanor. As an alternative, the fine "may be fixed at any greater sum not exceeding double the pecuniary gain derived from the crime by the offender." A class A misdemeanor carries a county jail term that "shall not exceed one year" under K.S.A. 21-6602(a).
The sexual extortion rows reflect the text as amended by Caleb's Law (see Recent changes below). Theft at $1,500 to under $25,000, and under $1,500, is subject to further exceptions written into 21-5801(b) that are not listed here.
Is extortion a felony in Kansas?
Blackmail under 21-5428, extortion under 21-6501 and sexual extortion under 21-5515 are felonies whatever the amount demanded. Theft by threat is a felony when the property or services are worth $1,500 or more and a class A misdemeanor below $1,500, subject to the exceptions listed in 21-5801(b).
Threats to sue, report someone, or post about them
The blackmail statute's first clause covers threatening to "Communicate accusations or statements about any person that would subject such person or any other person to public ridicule, contempt or degradation." Theft by threat uses the general definition of threat, "a communicated intent to inflict physical or other harm on any person or on property." The texts of 21-5428 and 21-5801 contain no claim-of-right or lawful-demand exception.
Kansas also has a narrower crime named extortion. Under K.S.A. 21-6501, extortion is "Intentionally and wrongfully demanding, soliciting or receiving anything of value from the owner, proprietor or other person having a financial interest in a business," by an express or implied threat or promise that the person will cause the business's competition to be diminished or eliminated, cause its prices to be increased, decreased or maintained at a stated level, or "protect the property used in the business or the person or family of the owner, proprietor or other interested person from injury by violence or other unlawful means." It is a severity level 7, nonperson felony.
How those elements apply to a particular demand is a question for a lawyer licensed in Kansas.
Sexual extortion (sextortion) in Kansas
Kansas has had a sexual extortion offense since 2021. Caleb's Law, 2026 Session Laws of Kansas ch. 45 (H.B. 2537), approved April 6, 2026, amended K.S.A. 21-5515. It took effect July 1, 2026, on its publication in the statute book.
As amended, 21-5515(a) has two parts:
- Subsection (a)(1) covers communicating by any means a threat to injure the property or reputation of a person, commit violence against a person, or distribute an image, video or other recording of a person that is of a sexual nature or depicts the person in a state of nudity, either with the intent to coerce the person to engage in sexual contact, sexual intercourse or conduct of a sexual nature, or to produce, provide or distribute such an image, or in a way that causes the person to do so.
- Subsection (a)(2) covers "communicating by any means a threat to distribute an image, video or other recording of a person that is of a sexual nature or depicts a person in a state of nudity: (A) With the intent to coerce such person to produce or provide anything of value; or (B) that causes such person to produce or provide anything of value."
Under 21-5515(d), the intent variants ((a)(1)(A) and (a)(2)(A)) are a severity level 7 person felony, and the variants where the threat causes the result ((a)(1)(B) and (a)(2)(B)) are a severity level 4 person felony. Each moves one level higher, to level 6 and level 3, "when the offender is 18 years of age or older and the victim is: (i) Less than 18 years of age; or (ii) a dependent adult." Under 21-5515(e) and (f), aggravated sexual extortion causing great bodily harm is a severity level 3 person felony and aggravated sexual extortion causing death is a severity level 1 person felony. Each applies where the trier of fact finds the sexual extortion was the proximate cause of the harm or death, and under 21-5515(g), "It shall not be a defense that the victim contributed to the victim's own great bodily harm or death."
Where the person pressured is under 18, sexual exploitation of a child (K.S.A. 21-5510(a)(1)) may also apply. It includes "Employing, using, persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing a child under 18 years of age, or a person whom the offender believes to be a child under 18 years of age, to engage in sexually explicit conduct with the intent to promote any performance." That is a severity level 3 person felony, and an off-grid person felony when the offender is 18 or older and the child is under 14.
The amended definition of "image, video or other recording" in 21-5515(h) includes any such item "that has been created, in whole or in part, altered or modified by artificial intelligence or any digital means to appear to depict or purport to depict a person, regardless of whether such person was involved in the creation of the original image, video or other recording."
If you or someone you know is being threatened with the release of images, our sextortion scams guide covers reporting and removal steps. For Kansas rules on AI-generated images, see Kansas deepfake laws, and for image-sharing crimes nationwide, revenge porn laws by state.
Related Kansas offenses people confuse with extortion
- Robbery, K.S.A. 21-5420. "Robbery is knowingly taking property from the person or presence of another by force or by threat of bodily harm to any person." It is a severity level 5 person felony.
- Criminal threat, K.S.A. 21-5415. This offense needs no demand. It includes "any threat to: (1) Commit violence communicated with intent to place another in fear," along with threats meant to cause the evacuation, lock down or disruption of a building or other listed place, or made in reckless disregard of that risk. A criminal threat is a severity level 9 person felony.
Recent changes
- 2026: 2026 Session Laws ch. 114 (H.B. 2479), approved April 9, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, amended blackmail (K.S.A. 21-5428) to exclude compelled sexual conduct and to cover threats to disseminate an image, video or recording of an identifiable person who is nude or engaged in sexual activity, including AI-made or altered images, in place of the earlier link to 21-6101(a)(8).
- 2026: Caleb's Law (2026 Session Laws ch. 45, H.B. 2537), approved April 6, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, amended the sexual extortion statute, K.S.A. 21-5515: it added the subsection (a)(2) threats to distribute an image to obtain anything of value, and added the higher levels for offenders 18 or older with victims under 18 or dependent adults. The amended text also includes AI-altered images in the image definition and grades aggravated sexual extortion causing great bodily harm or death.
- 2021: Sexual extortion was enacted (2021 Session Laws ch. 103). In that text, the (a)(1) intent offense was a severity level 7 person felony and the (a)(2) causing offense a severity level 4 person felony.
Federal law
Federal law also reaches interstate threats and extortion, separately from Kansas statutes; our extortion laws hub covers the federal offenses.
Related pages
- Extortion and blackmail laws by state
- Kansas theft laws
- Kansas deepfake laws
- Kansas scam and fraud laws
- Sextortion scams: what to do
- Missouri extortion laws
- Nebraska extortion laws
This article provides general legal information about Kansas criminal statutes as of October 17, 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Kansas.
Last updated: October 17, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is blackmail illegal in Kansas?
Yes. Under K.S.A. 21-5428, blackmail is intentionally gaining or attempting to gain anything of value, or compelling or attempting to compel someone to act against their will (other than sexual contact, sexual intercourse or conduct of a sexual nature), by threatening to communicate accusations or statements that would subject a person to public ridicule, contempt or degradation, or to disseminate an image, video or other recording obtained in violation of 21-6101(a)(6) or showing another identifiable person nude or engaged in sexual activity, including AI-made or altered depictions. This reflects the statute as amended effective July 1, 2026.
Is blackmail a felony in Kansas?
Yes. Blackmail by threatening accusations or statements is a severity level 7 nonperson felony, and blackmail by threatening to disseminate an image, video or recording covered by 21-5428(a)(2) is a severity level 4 person felony (K.S.A. 21-5428(b)).
What is the penalty for sextortion in Kansas?
Under K.S.A. 21-5515 as amended by Caleb's Law, sexual extortion is a severity level 7 or level 4 person felony depending on the variant, one level higher (6 or 3) when the offender is 18 or older and the victim is under 18 or a dependent adult. Aggravated sexual extortion causing death is a severity level 1 person felony.
Is threatening to share someone's nude photos for money a crime in Kansas?
Under K.S.A. 21-5515(a)(2), as amended in 2026, communicating a threat to distribute a sexual or nude image of a person with the intent to coerce them to produce or provide anything of value, or in a way that causes them to do so, is sexual extortion.
What counts as a threat for theft in Kansas?
K.S.A. 21-5111(ff) defines a threat as a communicated intent to inflict physical or other harm on any person or on property. Obtaining control over property or services by threat, with intent to permanently deprive the owner, is theft under 21-5801(a)(3).
Updates
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Kansas Statutes Annotated, Chapter 21: CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
§ 21-5428Blackmail.In forcecited in 2 of our articles
(a) Blackmail is intentionally gaining or attempting to gain anything of value or compelling or attempting to compel another to act against such person's will, by threatening to: (1) Communicate accusations or statements about any person that would subject such person or any other person to public ridicule, contempt or degradation; or (2) disseminate any videotape, photograph, film or image obtained in violation of K.S.A. 21-6101(a)(6) or (a)(8), and amendments thereto. (b) Blackmail as defined in: (1) Subsection (a)(1) is a severity level 7, nonperson felony; and (2) subsection (a)(2) is a severity level 4, person felony.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov
Cited in 2 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2024
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- In re Belcher (Supreme Court of Kansas 2024, 552 P.3d 1213)“…K.S.A. 21-6206 (Harassment by telecommunication device) and K.S.A. 21-5428 [Blackmail]); and (ii) by refusing to c…”
- Smith v. Brake (District Court, D. Kansas 2021)“…nder no particular obligation to do so. Plaintiffs cite to K.S.A. § 21-5428, which defines the crime of blackmail.…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: Kansas Sexting Laws: Legal Consequences and Penalties
§ 21-5515Sexual extortion.In forcecited in 2 of our articles
(a) Sexual extortion is communicating by any means a threat to injure the property or reputation of a person, commit violence against a person, or distribute an image, video or other recording of a person that is of a sexual nature or depicts such person in a state of nudity: (1) With the intent to coerce such person to: (A) Engage in sexual contact, sexual intercourse or conduct that is of a sexual nature; or (B) produce, provide or distribute an image, video or other recording of a person in a state of nudity or engaging in conduct that is of a sexual nature; or (2) that causes such person to: (A) Engage in sexual contact, sexual intercourse or conduct that is of a sexual nature; or (B) produce, provide or distribute an image, video or other recording of a person in a state of nudity or engaging in conduct that is of a sexual nature. (b) Sexual extortion as defined in: (1) Subsection (a)(1) is a severity level 7, person felony; and (2) subsection (a)(2) is a severity level 4, person felony. (c) This section shall be a part of and supplemental to the Kansas criminal code.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov
§ 21-5801Theft.In forcecited in 3 of our articles
(a) Theft is any of the following acts done with intent to permanently deprive the owner of the possession, use or benefit of the owner's property or services: (1) Obtaining or exerting unauthorized control over property or services; (2) obtaining control over property or services, by deception; (3) obtaining control over property or services, by threat; (4) obtaining control over stolen property or services knowing the property or services to have been stolen by another; or (5) knowingly dispensing motor fuel into a storage container or the fuel tank of a motor vehicle at an establishment in which motor fuel is offered for retail sale and leaving the premises of the establishment without making payment for the motor fuel.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov
Also relied on in: Kansas Theft Laws: $1,500 Felony Line, Shoplifting and Penalties, Kansas Embezzlement and Forgery Laws: Theft, Penalties (2026)
§ 21-5111Definitions.In forcecited in 2 of our articles
The following definitions shall apply when the words and phrases defined are used in this code, except when a particular context clearly requires a different meaning. (a) "Act" includes a failure or omission to take action. (b) "Another" means a person or persons as defined in this code other than the person whose act is claimed to be criminal. (c) "Conduct" means an act or a series of acts and the accompanying mental state. (d) "Conviction" includes a judgment of guilt entered upon a plea of guilty. (e) "Deception" means knowingly creating or reinforcing a false impression, including false impressions as to law, value, intention or other state of mind. "Deception" as to a person's intention to perform a promise shall not be inferred from the fact alone that such person did not subsequently perform the promise. Falsity as to matters having no pecuniary significance, or puffing by statements unlikely to deceive reasonable persons, is not "deception".
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov
Also relied on in: Kansas Assault and Battery Laws: Charges and Penalties (2026)
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Sources and References
- K.S.A. 21-5428, Blackmail (Revisor page; see 2026 Session Laws ch. 114 for the current text)(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-5801, Theft(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- 2026 Session Laws of Kansas, ch. 45 (H.B. 2537), Caleb's Law(sos.ks.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-6101, Breach of privacy(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-5111, Definitions(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-6804, Sentencing guidelines grid for nondrug crimes(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-6611, Fines(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-6602, Classification of misdemeanors and terms of confinement(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-5515, Sexual extortion (2021 text)(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-5420, Robbery(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-5415, Criminal threat(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- 2026 Session Laws of Kansas, ch. 114 (H.B. 2479), amending K.S.A. 21-5428 and 21-5301(sos.ks.gov).gov
- Kansas Revisor of Statutes, 2026 Composite Listing of New, Amended and Repealed Statutes(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-6501, Extortion(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-5301, Attempt(ksrevisor.gov).gov
- K.S.A. 21-5510, Sexual exploitation of a child(ksrevisor.gov).gov
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