12.3: Stalking

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Page ID: 69963

George Cartwright
Madera Community College

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The crime of stalking is defined in section 646.9 of the California Penal Code.

a) Any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows or willfully and maliciously harasses another person and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his or her immediate family is guilty of the crime of stalking, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison.

(b) Any person who violates subdivision (a) when there is a temporary restraining order, injunction, or any other court order in effect prohibiting the behavior described in subdivision (a) against the same party, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years.

(c) (1) Every person who, after having been convicted of a felony under Section 273.5, 273.6, or 422, commits a violation of subdivision (a) shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or five years.

(2) Every person who, after having been convicted of a felony under subdivision (a), commits a violation of this section shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or five years.

For the purposes of this section, “harasses” means engages in a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys, torments, or terrorizes the person, and that serves no legitimate purpose.

For the purposes of this section, “course of conduct” means two or more acts occurring over a period of time, however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose. Constitutionally protected activity is not included within the meaning of “course of conduct.”

For the purposes of this section, “credible threat” means a verbal or written threat, including that performed through the use of an electronic communication device, or a threat implied by a pattern of conduct or a combination of verbal, written, or electronically communicated statements and conduct, made with the intent to place the person that is the target of the threat in reasonable fear for his or her safety or the safety of his or her family, and made with the apparent ability to carry out the threat so as to cause the person who is the target of the threat to reasonably fear for his or her safety or the safety of his or her family. It is not necessary to prove that the defendant had the intent to actually carry out the threat. The present incarceration of a person making the threat shall not be a bar to prosecution under this section. Constitutionally protected activity is not included within the meaning of “credible threat.”

For purposes of this section, the term “electronic communication device” includes, but is not limited to, telephones, cellular phones, computers, video recorders, fax machines, or pagers.

“Electronic communication” has the same meaning as the term defined in Subsection 12 of

Section 2510 of Title 18 of the United States Code.⁹⁶

Figure $\PageIndex{1}$: *Someone Typing on a Computer with Encrypted Code.^xvii*

Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking is one of the more dangerous and negative examples of surveillance. “Cyberstalking is the repeated unwanted relational pursuit of an individual through communication technologies, such as computers, tablets, and smart phones” (Tokunaga & Aune, 2017, p. 1453). Cyberstalking is a prime example of peer surveillance but to a violent extent. According to Ellison and Akdeniz (1998), “It may involve electronic sabotage, in the form of sending the victim hundreds or thousands of junk e-mail messages (the activity known as ‘spamming’) or sending computer viruses” (pp. 30-31). They also argue cyberstalking includes indirect forms of harassment such as a stalker impersonating his or her victim online and sending abusive e-mails or fraudulent spams under their name (Ellison & Akdeniz).

With the increase in electronic communication and surveillance systems, cyberstalking has become much more prevalent. It is easier for someone to hide behind a screen and harass someone than it is to harass someone face-to-face. Melander (2010) discovered that many stalking behaviors in college relationships are tied to Internet use. Moreover, having or pursuing relationships through technology makes cyberstalking convenient and even enticing for perpetrators (Melander). Social media is a huge enabler for this kind of crime. Anybody can make a fake profile on Facebook or Instagram and use it to stalk someone else.

Furthermore, it is difficult for law enforcement to define and investigate cyberstalking. Bocij and McFarlane (2002) explain, “the challenge faced by law enforcement, clinicians, researchers and victims is that of producing a definition of cyberstalking that can be used to formulate legislation, direct research, inform treatment and protect victims” (p. 32). Technology is so complex and has many different channels that allow for violent/dangerous surveillance like cyberstalking.

Cynthia Armistead’s case offers an example of cyberstalking. She received thousands of offensive telephone calls after a stalker posted a fake advertisement on a Usenet discussion group which offered services as a prostitute with her address and phone number attached. She received humiliating and vulgar phone calls and texts for weeks. (Ellison and Akdeniz 1998). Not only is this an annoyance, but it can also lead to more serious effects such as anxiety and fear.⁹⁷

⁹⁶California Penal Code (2024)

⁹⁷Szarka (2019)

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