Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 509
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 509.080 (2026)

Criminal coercion

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) A person is guilty of criminal coercion when with intent to compel another person to engage in or refrain from conduct, he unlawfully threatens to:

(a) Commit any crime; or

(b) Accuse anyone of a crime; or

(c) Expose any secret tending to subject any person to hatred, contempt or ridicule or to impair another's credit or business repute; or

(d) Take or withhold action as an official or cause an official to take or withhold action.

(2) A defendant may prove in exculpation of criminal coercion committed under subsection (1)(b), (c) or (d) that he believed the accusation or secret to be true or the proposed official action justified and that his sole purpose was to compel or induce the victim to desist from misbehavior or to make good a wrong done by him.

(3) Criminal coercion is a Class A misdemeanor. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Amended 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 183, sec. 2. -- Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 80, effective January 1, 1975.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1999–2025 · leading case: Yates v. Commonwealth, 430 S.W.3d 883 (Ky. 2014).
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Yates v. Commonwealth, 430 S.W.3d 883 (Ky. 2014). · cites it 2× “Some blackmail-type threats resulting in sexual contact could be prosecuted as criminal coercion under KRS 509.080, 9 but not all could be recognized as such.”
Turner v. Commonwealth, 10 S.W.3d 136 (Ky. Ct. App. 1999). “020), unlawful imprisonment in the second degree (KRS 509.080), escape in the second degree (KRS 520.”
Troy Dunkleberger v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. 2025). “KRS 509.080(1)(a). A reasonable person in such a circumstance would be entitled to believe that failure to obey the assailant will result in being shot, justifying an act of deadly physical force in defense.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 509.080(1)(a) — 1 case
Troy Dunkleberger v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. 2025). “KRS 509.080(1)(a). A reasonable person in such a circumstance would be entitled to believe that failure to obey the assailant will result in being shot, justifying an act of deadly physical force in defense.”
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