Extortion by My Ex-Boyfriend

[lawfacts]

My ex-boyfriend is threatening to publish naked pictures of me on the Internet unless I give him total access to all of my social media accounts. He lives in Central America. How can I stop him?

[Mr. Knowitall]

You can report his actions to the police in the U.S., but if he's in Central America there's not much they can do unless he visits the U.S. and enters their jurisdiction. You can report his actions in the nation in which he lives, but nobody here can tell you the laws of that nation, what the police might do in response, other than you would likely have to travel to that nation multiple times over the course of a prosecution to participate in court proceedings.

If he carries out his threat, you can try to have the company that is hosting the pictures take them down.

Realistically speaking, there's not much you can do to stop him or to respond effectively. If you give him what he wants, keep in mind that the odds are significant that he'll simply make more demands.

It's too late for you, but anybody coming across your story should think twice about letting their partner have pictures that they don't want other people to see.