While everyone knows that stalking is a crime, few realize that it can be a
felony or a
misdemeanor (and in some cases, the accused might be charged with both a felony and a misdemeanor.)Every single state has
stalking laws. While the nuances of stalking laws vary from one state to another, for the most part, each state has the same description of
what can be considered stalking. As a rule, any behavior that can be considered
prolonged harassment, an obvious attempt to frighten someone, the unwanted monitoring of a person, using proximity to threaten a person, or actions that lead to emotional distress is covered by
stalking laws.Anyone who engages in the following
types of behavior will likely be charged and convicted of stalking in California:
- Going out of your way to follow a person
- Frequently showing up at locations where you know a specific person will be
- Using GPS to monitor a person’s movements
- Constantly filming/photographing someone without their permission
- Obsessively monitoring someone’s social media accounts, phone calls/texts, reading their emails, and studying their computer activities
- Going out of your way to gather as much information as you can about a specific person
- Leveling threats against a person or their loved ones (including pets) if they don’t spend time with you
- Instigating property damage
- Sending gifts and other forms of communication after you’ve been told to stop doing so
