What You Need to Know About Harassment

The term “harassment” can refer to a broad spectrum of behaviors that are subject to criminal punishment. Pennsylvania has a criminal law forbidding harassment in many forms, as well as specific forms of harassment, such as stalking and cyberstalking.

Let’s break down some of those different forms:

Criminal Harassment

Criminal harassment should not be confused with how “harassment” is used in contexts such as workplace discrimination lawsuits. Generally, criminal harassment entails intentionally targeting someone with behavior that is meant to torment, alarm, annoy, or terrorize. Not all petty annoyances constitute harassment. Instead, most state laws require that the behavior causes a credible threat to the person’s safety or the safety of their family. Though state harassment laws vary, they often take different levels and methods of harassment into account. General harassment statute may list various ways to communicate harassment, including emails, telephone calls, and other forms of communication.

Harassment charges range from a summary offense to a misdemeanor, depending on the conduct that occurred. In many states, people charged with harassment will receive a misdemeanor if they have previously been convicted of harassment, of communicating a threat, or of a domestic violence offense.

Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment

The crime of stalking can be simply described as the unwanted pursuit of another person that generally refers to a pattern of conduct which causes the victim reasonable fear for their safety or their family’s safety. Examples of this type of behavior include following a person, appearing at a person’s home or place of business, making harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or objects, or vandalizing a person’s property.

“Cyberstalking” refers to stalking someone through the internet, email, text messages, or other means of electronic communication. Many states have revised their harassment and/or stalking laws to explicitly include harassing electronic communications.

Harassment and Protection from Abuse Orders

While prosecutors can charge someone with criminal harassment, victims of abuse or harassment may also petition the court for an order of protection to prohibit someone from engaging in harassing behaviors. However, in order to obtain a protection from abuse order, the perpetrator must be a family member, household member, or intimate partner. Orders resulting from the filing of a petition for protection from abuse frequently come into play in situations involving domestic violence.

Talk to a Criminal Defense Lawyer About Your Harassment Charges

On occasion, people may allege criminal harassment as a way to retaliate against someone else. If you’re on the receiving end of allegations of criminal harassment, the Benari Law Group can help you and ensure that your rights are protected. To schedule a free consultation with experienced criminal defense lawyers at the Benari Law Group, contact our office at 610-566-1006 today.