Rev. Code Wash. (ARCW) §
9A.46.110. Stalking.
(2007)
(1)
A
person commits the crime of stalking
if, without lawful authority and under circumstances not amounting to a felony
attempt of another crime:
(a)
He or
she intentionally and repeatedly harasses or repeatedly follows another
person; and
(b)
The
person being harassed or followed is placed in fear that the stalker intends
to injure the person, another person, or property of the person or of another
person. The feeling of fear must be one that a reasonable person in the same
situation would experience under all the circumstances;
and
(c)
The
stalker either:
(i)
Intends to frighten, intimidate,
or harass the person; or
(ii)
Knows
or reasonably should know that the person is afraid, intimidated, or harassed
even if the stalker did not intend to place the person in fear or intimidate
or harass the person.
(2)
(a) It is not a defense to
the crime of stalking
under subsection (1)(c)(i) of
this section that the stalker
was not given actual notice that the person did not want the stalker to
contact or follow the person; and
(b) It is not a defense to the crime of stalking
under subsection (1)(c)(ii) of
this section that the stalker
did not intend to frighten, intimidate, or harass the
person.
(3)
It
shall be a defense to the crime of stalking
that the defendant is a licensed private investigator acting within the
capacity of his or her license as provided by chapter 18.165
RCW.
(4)
Attempts to contact or follow
the person after being given actual notice that the person does not want to be
contacted or followed constitutes prima facie evidence that the stalker
intends to intimidate or harass the person. "Contact" includes, in addition to
any other form of contact or communication, the sending of an electronic
communication to the person.
(5)
(a) Except as provided in
(b) of this subsection, a person who stalks another
person is guilty of a
gross misdemeanor.
(b) A person who stalks another is guilty of a
class C felony if any of the
following applies: (i) The
stalker has previously been convicted in this state or any other state of any
crime of harassment, as defined in RCW
9A.46.060, of the same victim or members of the victim's family or
household or any person specifically named in a protective order; (ii) the
stalking
violates any protective order protecting the person being stalked; (iii) the
stalker has previously been convicted of a gross misdemeanor or felony stalking
offense under this section for stalking
another person; (iv) the stalker was armed with a deadly weapon, as defined in
RCW
9.94A.602, while stalking
the person; (v)(A) the stalker's victim is or was a law enforcement officer;
judge; juror; attorney; victim advocate; legislator; community corrections'
officer; an employee, contract staff person, or volunteer of a correctional
agency; or an employee of the child protective, child welfare, or adult
protective services division within the department of social and health
services; and (B) the stalker stalked the victim to retaliate against the
victim for an act the victim performed during the course of official duties or
to influence the victim's performance of official duties; or (vi) the
stalker's victim is a current, former, or prospective witness in an
adjudicative proceeding, and the stalker stalked the victim to retaliate
against the victim as a result of the victim's testimony or potential
testimony.
(6)
As
used in this section:
(a)
"Correctional agency" means a
person working for the department of natural resources in a correctional
setting or any state, county, or municipally operated agency with the
authority to direct the release of a person serving a sentence or term of
confinement and includes but is not limited to the department of corrections,
the indeterminate sentence review board, and the department of social and
health services.
(b)
"Follows" means deliberately
maintaining visual or physical proximity to a specific person over a period of
time. A finding that the alleged stalker repeatedly and deliberately appears
at the person's home, school, place of employment, business, or any other
location to maintain visual or physical proximity to the person is sufficient
to find that the alleged stalker follows the person. It is not necessary to
establish that the alleged stalker follows the person while in transit from
one location to another.
(c)
"Harasses" means unlawful
harassment as defined in RCW
10.14.020.
(d)
"Protective order" means any
temporary or permanent court order prohibiting or limiting violence against,
harassment of, contact or communication with, or physical proximity to another
person.
(e)
"Repeatedly" means on two or
more separate occasions.
Rev. Code Wash. (ARCW) §
9.61.260. Cyberstalking.
(2004)
(1)
A
person is guilty of cyberstalking
if he or she, with intent to harass, intimidate, torment, or embarrass any
other person, and under circumstances not constituting telephone harassment,
makes an electronic communication to such other person or a third
party:
(a)
Using
any lewd, lascivious, indecent, or obscene words, images, or language, or
suggesting the commission of any lewd or lascivious act;
(b)
Anonymously or repeatedly
whether or not conversation occurs; or
(c)
Threatening to inflict injury on
the person or property of the person called or any member of his or her family
or household.
(2)
Cyberstalking is a gross misdemeanor, except
as provided in subsection (3) of this section.
(3)
Cyberstalking is a class C felony if either
of the following applies:
(a)
The
perpetrator has previously been convicted of the crime of harassment, as
defined in RCW
9A.46.060, with the same victim or a member of the victim's family or
household or any person specifically named in a no-contact order or
no-harassment order in this or any other state; or
(b)
The
perpetrator engages in the behavior prohibited under subsection (1)(c) of this
section by threatening to kill the person threatened or any other
person.
(4)
Any
offense committed under this section may be deemed to have been committed
either at the place from which the communication was made or at the place
where the communication was received.
(5)
For
purposes of this section, "electronic communication" means the transmission of
information by wire, radio, optical cable, electromagnetic, or other similar
means. "Electronic communication" includes, but is not limited to, electronic
mail, internet-based communications, pager service, and electronic text
messaging.