Rhode Island Extortion and Blackmail Laws: Penalties (2026)

Yes, blackmail is a crime in Rhode Island, and the statute uses the word. R.I. Gen. Laws 11-42-2, titled "Extortion and blackmail," punishes threats made with intent to extort money or any unlawful pecuniary advantage, to compel someone to act against his or her will, or to stop someone from carrying out a legal duty, with up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $25,000, or both. Separate felonies in 11-64-3(e) and (f) cover threats to disclose an intimate image of an adult to obtain a benefit and demands for payment to remove one.

Information last verified on October 17, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Rhode Island criminal statutes on extortion and blackmail (R.I. Gen. Laws 11-42-2), extortion by public officials (11-42-1.1), threats and payment demands involving intimate images (11-64-3), robbery (11-39-1), threats to public officials (11-42-4), the larceny value schedule (11-41-5), the felony definition (11-1-2), and the child-protection statutes on producing child pornography (11-9-1.3) and indecent solicitation of a child (11-37-8.8 and 11-37-8.9). It does not cover what to do if you are being threatened or how to get images removed (see our sextortion scams guide), image-sharing crimes in other states (see revenge porn laws by state), federal offenses (covered on our extortion and blackmail laws by state hub) or local ordinances.

What is extortion in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island keeps extortion and blackmail as one stand-alone crime in chapter 11-42, rather than treating it as a form of larceny. Section 11-42-2 reads:

"Whoever, verbally or by a written or printed communication, maliciously threatens to accuse another of a crime or offense or by a verbal or written communication maliciously threatens any injury to the person, reputation, property, or financial condition of another, or threatens to engage in other criminal conduct with intent to extort money or any unlawful pecuniary advantage, or with intent to compel any person to do any act against his or her will, or to prohibit any person from carrying out a duty imposed by law, shall be punished by imprisonment in the adult correctional institutions for not more than fifteen (15) years or by a fine of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or both."

The section has three parts:

• A threat, made verbally or in a written or printed communication.
• One of the listed threats (see the next section).
• One of three purposes: to "extort money or any unlawful pecuniary advantage," to "compel any person to do any act against his or her will," or to "prohibit any person from carrying out a duty imposed by law."

The text does not require that money or property actually change hands.

Is "blackmail" a separate crime?

The word blackmail appears in the section's title, "Extortion and blackmail," but the text sets out one offense with one penalty. There is no separate blackmail section with different elements.

What kinds of threats count?

Section 11-42-2 lists three kinds of threat:

1. A malicious threat "to accuse another of a crime or offense."
2. A malicious threat of "any injury to the person, reputation, property, or financial condition of another."
3. A threat "to engage in other criminal conduct."

Rhode Island extortion penalties

Rhode Island states each penalty inside the offense section. Section 11-42-2 has one range and no value tiers. The larceny value schedule in 11-41-5 applies by its terms to "any offense under 11-41-1 - 11-41-6, except 11-41-3," and extortion sits in a different chapter, 11-42. Our Rhode Island theft laws page covers larceny and its value tiers.

Is extortion a felony in Rhode Island?

Yes. Section 11-42-2 does not label itself, but under R.I. Gen. Laws 11-1-2, unless otherwise provided, any offense that may be punished by imprisonment for more than one year or by a fine of more than $1,000 is a felony. Section 11-42-2 allows imprisonment in the adult correctional institutions for up to 15 years, a fine of up to $25,000, or both, whatever the amount demanded. The intimate-image threat and removal-payment provisions in 11-64-3(e) and (f) state expressly that a violator "shall be guilty of a felony."

Extortion by public officials

Section 11-42-1.1 adds a separate offense for officials. Any person "being an elected or appointed official or employee of the state, or of any political subdivision of the state, or of any city or town of the state, or representing himself or herself to be, or assuming to act as an official or employee, who, under color or pretense of office, commits or attempts to commit an act of extortion, shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned for a term of not more than fifteen (15) years or fined not more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or both, and shall forfeit all unjust enrichment."

Threats to sue, report someone, or expose a secret

Section 11-42-2 lists a malicious threat "to accuse another of a crime or offense," made with intent to extort money or any unlawful pecuniary advantage, to compel any person to do any act against his or her will, or to prohibit any person from carrying out a duty imposed by law. It also lists threats of injury to a person's "reputation" or "financial condition."

The section's text contains no written exception for a claim of right, a debt or a lawful demand. Its limiting words are the malice requirement attached to the first two threats and the three intent requirements. The section does not mention lawsuits or reviews. Whether a particular demand falls within it is a question for a lawyer licensed in Rhode Island.

Sextortion and intimate images

Rhode Island has no statute named sextortion. The closest provisions sit in 11-64-3, the unauthorized-dissemination statute:

"(e) Any person who intentionally threatens to disclose any visual image described in subsection (a) and makes the threat to obtain a benefit in return for not making the disclosure or in connection with the threatened disclosure, shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, be subject to imprisonment for up to five (5) years, a fine of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both. (f) Any person who demands payment of money, property, services, or anything else of value from a person in exchange for removing any visual image described in subsection (a) from public view shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, be subject to imprisonment for up to five (5) years, a fine of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both."

Both subsections refer to images "described in subsection (a)." Subsection (a)(1) describes "A visual image that depicts another identifiable person eighteen (18) years or older engaged in sexually explicit conduct or of the intimate areas of that person including any image created by a digital device or altered by digitization." Subsection (a) also sets out conditions for the dissemination offense: the image was made or obtained in circumstances where a reasonable person would understand it was to remain private, or created without the person's consent; it was shared without the depicted person's consent; and it was shared with knowledge or reckless disregard of likely harm, or with intent to harass, intimidate, threaten or coerce. Section 11-64-3(g) provides that those who violate the section are not subject to sex offender registration under chapter 37.1 of title 11.

Subsections (e) and (f) cover images of people 18 or older. When the person targeted is under 18, other statutes apply. Knowingly producing child pornography, or attempting to, carries up to 15 years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both (11-9-1.3). Knowingly soliciting a person under 18, or one the actor believes is under 18, by any means including by computer or through the internet, for an act of prostitution or any act that violates chapter 9, 34 or 37 of title 11 is indecent solicitation of a child, punishable by imprisonment for not less than 5 years (11-37-8.8, 11-37-8.9).

The general extortion statute, 11-42-2, also lists threats of injury to a person's reputation and the purpose of compelling an act against the person's will.

If you or someone you know is being threatened with the release of images, our sextortion scams guide covers reporting and removal steps. For AI-generated and altered images, see Rhode Island deepfake laws, and for image-sharing crimes nationwide, revenge porn laws by state.

Related offenses people confuse with extortion

• Robbery, 11-39-1. Robbery takes property from the person by force or threat. Under 11-39-1(b), a person who commits "robbery or other larceny from the person by force or threat, where there is no weapon and no injury and the victim is neither a severely impaired person or an elderly person," is guilty of second degree robbery, punishable by not less than 5 nor more than 30 years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
• Threats to public officials, 11-42-4. No demand is required. Under 11-42-4(a), knowingly and willfully conveying "a verbal or written threat to take the life of, or to inflict bodily harm upon, a public official or a member of a public official's immediate family because of the performance or nonperformance of some public duty" is a felony punishable by up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Our Rhode Island assault and battery laws page covers the bodily-harm offenses.

Recent changes

• July 2, 2025: P.L. 2025, ch. 429 (S 0136) and ch. 430 amended 11-64-3, effective that day. Subsection (a)(1) now includes "any image created by a digital device or altered by digitization," which carries into the threat and removal-payment felonies in (e) and (f) because they refer to images described in subsection (a).
• Coming July 1, 2027: P.L. 2026, ch. 189 and ch. 190 amend 11-1-2 so that wherever "one year" appears in the general or public laws as a maximum sentence of imprisonment, it means 364 days. From that date, the one-year maximum for a first violation of 11-64-3(a) will be applied as 364 days.

Federal law

Federal law also reaches interstate threats and extortion, separately from Rhode Island statutes; our extortion laws hub covers the federal offenses.

Related pages

• Extortion and blackmail laws by state
• Rhode Island theft laws
• Rhode Island deepfake laws
• Rhode Island assault and battery laws
• Sextortion scams: what to do
• Massachusetts extortion laws
• Connecticut extortion laws

This article provides general legal information about Rhode Island criminal statutes as of October 17, 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Rhode Island.

Last updated: October 17, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is blackmail illegal in Rhode Island?

Yes. R.I. Gen. Laws 11-42-2, titled Extortion and blackmail, punishes maliciously threatening to accuse another of a crime, threatening injury to another's person, reputation, property or financial condition, or threatening other criminal conduct, with intent to extort money or an unlawful pecuniary advantage, to compel an act against the person's will, or to prohibit a person from carrying out a legal duty. The penalty is up to 15 years, a fine of up to $25,000, or both.

What is the penalty for extortion in Rhode Island?

Section 11-42-2 carries imprisonment in the adult correctional institutions for up to 15 years, a fine of up to $25,000, or both. The amount demanded does not change the range, because the section has no value tiers.

Is extortion a felony in Rhode Island?

Yes. Section 11-42-2 does not label itself, but under R.I. Gen. Laws 11-1-2 any offense punishable by more than one year of imprisonment or a fine of more than $1,000 is a felony, and 11-42-2 allows up to 15 years in the adult correctional institutions, a fine of up to $25,000, or both. The intimate-image threat provisions in 11-64-3(e) and (f) are expressly labeled felonies.

Is it extortion to threaten to report someone to the police unless they pay?

Section 11-42-2 lists a malicious threat to accuse another of a crime or offense when made with intent to extort money or any unlawful pecuniary advantage, or to compel an act against the person's will. The section's text contains no exception for demands for money owed.

Is sextortion a crime in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island has no statute named sextortion, but 11-64-3(e) makes it a felony (up to 5 years, $5,000, or both) to intentionally threaten to disclose an intimate image described in subsection (a), which covers an identifiable person 18 or older, to obtain a benefit, and 11-64-3(f) makes it a felony to demand payment to remove such an image from public view. When the person targeted is under 18, producing child pornography (11-9-1.3) and indecent solicitation of a child (11-37-8.8) apply instead.