Content warning: This article contains mentions of suicide and sexual abuse.
A central Wisconsin mother testified about their son Bradyn Bohn, a 15-year-old teen from Kronenwetter, Wisconsin who died by suicide after falling victim to sextortion, on behalf of a bill aimed to combat sextortion during an emotional public hearing Wednesday.
Sextortion is a crime where scammers coerce their victims, usually teen boys, gaining their trust, convincing them to send compromising pictures and then blackmailing them for money.
“My son knew what was happening and he was so afraid there was no way out,” Brittney Bird, Bohn’s mother, said. “We were never going to stop this from happening, the monsters will always be there. Now we get to fight back.”
Lawmakers introduced the bill on April 8, known as “Bradyn’s Law,” which would make sextortion a standalone crime in Wisconsin.
Currently, sextortion is not a specific crime in Wisconsin, and suspects would likely be charged with “threats to communicate derogatory info” or “solicit intimate representation from a minor” — both charges carrying a maximum sentencing of three and a half years in prison.
Under the proposed bill, perpetrators of this crime could be charged with felony murder if the “sextortion” leads the victim to death by suicide and could add up to 15 years to the underlying sentence.
“A short time ago, I was unfamiliar with sextortion, however, when I heard about what happened to Bradyn in early March, I knew that we needed to act,” Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Weston, said. “We want to have the ability to send a message to these predators that if they do something like this, there is going to be harsh punishment.”
In 90% of sextortion cases, targeted victims are boys between 14 and 17, according to a 2024 report from the nonprofit Thorn done in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The number of online enticement reports, which includes sextortion, increased by more than 300% between 2021 and 2023. And in the first three months of 2025, the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force has already received 103 cybertips related to sextortion, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In the last month and a half, Bird said that seven families have reached out to her to tell her that their kids saw Bohn’s story and spoke up. Bird stressed the importance of spreading awareness about sextortion.
“Your kids are kids. They're victims. The people who are doing this to them know exactly what they're doing,” Bird said. “Nobody talks about [sextortion], because people think it's shameful. I have never felt ashamed or that we should hide this or anything within this process.”
Bird and John DeMay, who also lost his son to suicide because of sextortion, are holding a free community event to spread the word about the dangers of sextortion on April 30 at The Grand Theatre in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Anna Kleiber is a former state news editor and arts editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has written in-depth on elections, legislative maps and campus news. Anna will spend the summer as the 2025 Sharon Stark political reporting intern with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She has previously interned with WisPolitics and Madison Magazine. Follow her on X @annakleiber03.
