Stalking is a serious offense that often accompanies accusations of harassment. While harassment is somewhat like stalking, stalking almost always involves repeated acts against another person meant to cause emotional distress. Stalking very often involves physically following someone around. If you are accused of stalking, talk to an attorney for help.

Stalking is a criminal offense that may lead to serious charges and penalties. Generally, you may be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor for a first offense. If you are convicted of a subsequent offense, the charges may go up, and the penalties may become harsher. Stalking is often alleged to have occurred in many different places, and it may be considered to have occurred in all jurisdictions where communications were made by the defendant or received by the alleged victim. Stalking is often charged alongside other crimes related to harassment and assault, and there is a chance you might be facing additional charges and penalties.

Call the Liberty Law Team at (215) 826-3314 to get a free, private case review from our Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers.

Is Stalking a Criminal Offense in Pennsylvania?

People sometimes underestimate how serious stalking accusations can be. However, such accusations can lead to serious criminal charges and even jail time. According to 18 Pa.C.S. § 2709.1(a), a person may be charged with stalking under a couple of conditions.

First, you may be charged if you are accused of repeatedly acting toward another person in a way that demonstrates an intent to cause fear of bodily injury or intense emotional distress. This requires actually following the alleged victim without consent or authority. Our Pennsylvania criminal defense attorneys may help you prove that you did not intend to cause distress or harm to the victim.

Second, you may be charged if you are accused of repeatedly communicating with another person in a way that demonstrates an intent to cause fear of bodily harm or substantial emotional distress. Such communications could be face-to-face or through electronic means, like texts or emails.

Grading of Stalking Charges in Pennsylvania

Criminal charges for stalking may vary based on the specific circumstances. More specifically, your charges may become harsher if you are convicted of a second or subsequent stalking offense.

A first offense may be graded as a first-degree misdemeanor. According to 18 Pa.C.S. § 1104, a first-degree misdemeanor may be penalized with a jail term of up to 5 years.

A second or subsequent stalking offense may be charged as a third-degree felony. Similarly, if the defendant is convicted of a first-time stalking offense, but they have previously been convicted of a violent crime committed against the same victim or someone in their family or household, they may be charged with a third-degree felony.

A person convicted of a third-degree felony may be sentenced to up to 7 years in prison.

Where Stalking Charges Can Be Filed

Stalking is a complex offense to address because it may involve multiple locations, including different cities or counties within Pennsylvania. According to § 2709.1(b), stalking is deemed to have been committed in either the location where communications were made or where they were received.

This may be important if your cases involve electronic communications such as emails, texts, or social media messages. It can also be important if the defendant is alleged to have followed the victims to various locations throughout the state or even to other states.

Stalking requires that a defendant engage in repeated acts toward the alleged victim, not just one instance. Such a course of conduct might involve action in more than one jurisdiction. In that case, any jurisdiction involved in the case may use evidence of communications made in any other jurisdiction to prove a pattern of conduct.

Does Stalking Involve Committing Other Crimes?

Stalking is often made up of many smaller acts of harassment or intimidation. Each individual action taken by a defendant might not constitute a criminal offense. However, when all these actions line up in a way that creates a pattern of behavior or course of conduct designed to cause significant emotional distress in another person, they become a crime.

However, it is common for defendants facing stalking charges to also face other charges for offenses committed as part of the alleged stalking. For example, many people accused of stalking are also accused of things like trespassing on the victim’s property or defacing their property. You might also be charged with harassment or, if stalking is alleged to become physically violent, you might be charged with assault.

Examples of Criminal Stalking Offenses in Pennsylvania

Stalking offenses may involve a wide range of actions. On their own, each act might seem completely harmless. However, when one person is alleged to be following, sending messages to, or otherwise intimidating the same person over a long period of time, it suddenly becomes very serious.

A classic example of stalking involves following someone. You might be accused of showing up at places the alleged victim usually frequents. For example, a person charged with stalking might follow the victim to their home, job, doctor’s appointments, school, and any other place they go.

Stalking also tends to involve repeated messages or communications made to the victim from the defendant. You might be accused of repeatedly calling, texting, or emailing the alleged victim. Generally, the communications should have some sort of threatening content that would place the victim in fear of harm or serious emotional distress.

How You Can Challenge Stalking Charges

Stalking can be tricky to prove because it usually must occur over an extended period before charges are assessed. As such, there may be considerable room to challenge the accusations against you.

We might argue that tour communications were not threatening or meant to put the alleged victim in a state of emotional distress. Maybe you personally know the victim and needed to get in touch about something important, but they refused to respond. This is not uncommon in cases where romantic partners have serious disagreements or fights.

Another possibility is that you were authorized to follow someone, or you have a good reason for showing up at all the places they go to. For example, you might have the same commute to work, so you end up “following” the person every morning.

It is also possible that you are just not stalking someone. The alleged victim could be mentally unstable and unreasonably believe you are stalking them. This might be a somewhat unusual defense, but it is possible and sometimes happens.

Call Our Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Lawyers to Help Fight Your Charges

Call the Liberty Law Team at (215) 826-3314 to get a free, private case review from our Bucks County, PA criminal defense lawyers.