Title 16, Chapter 8, Section 16
( 16-8-16)
(a) A person commits the offense of theft by extortion when he
unlawfully obtains property of or from another person by threatening
to: (1) Inflict bodily injury on anyone or commit any other criminal
offense; (2) Accuse anyone of a criminal offense; (3) Disseminate any information tending to subject any person to
hatred, contempt, or ridicule or to impair his credit or business
repute; (4) Take or withhold action as a public official or cause an
official to take or withhold action; (5) Bring about or continue a strike, boycott, or other collective
unofficial action if the property is not demanded or received for
the benefit of the group in whose interest the actor purports to
act; or (6) Testify or provide information or withhold testimony or
information with respect to another's legal claim or defense. (b) In a prosecution under this Code section, the crime shall be
considered as having been committed in the county in which the
threat was made or received or in the county in which the property
was unlawfully obtained. (c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution based on paragraph
(2), (3), (4), or (6) of subsection (a) of this Code section that
the property obtained by threat of accusation, exposure, legal
action, or other invocation of official action was honestly claimed
as restitution or indemnification for harm done in the circumstance
to which such accusation, exposure, legal action, or other official
action relates or as compensation for property or lawful services. (d) A person convicted of the offense of theft by extortion shall be
punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten
years. |