North Carolina
This page lists the most applicable state crimes addressing stalking. However, depending on the facts of the case, a stalker might also be charged with other crimes, such as trespassing, intimidation of a witness, breaking and entering, etc. Check your state code or consult with your local prosecutor about other charges that might apply in a particular case.
N.C. Gen. Stat. §
14-277.3A. Stalking. (2008)
(a)
Legislative Intent. -- The
General Assembly finds that stalking
is a serious problem in this State and nationwide. Stalking
involves severe intrusions on the victim's personal privacy and autonomy. It is
a crime that causes a long-lasting impact on the victim's quality of life and
creates risks to the security and safety of the victim and others, even in the
absence of express threats of physical harm. Stalking
conduct often becomes increasingly violent over time.
The General
Assembly recognizes the dangerous nature of stalking
as well as the strong connections between stalking
and domestic violence and between stalking
and sexual assault. Therefore, the General Assembly enacts this law to encourage
effective intervention by the criminal justice system before stalking
escalates into behavior that has serious or lethal consequences. The General
Assembly intends to enact a stalking
statute that permits the criminal justice system to hold stalkers accountable
for a wide range of acts, communications, and conduct. The General Assembly
recognizes that stalking
includes, but is not limited to, a pattern of following, observing, or
monitoring the victim, or committing violent or intimidating acts against the
victim, regardless of the means.
(b)
Definitions. -- The
following definitions apply in this section:
(1)
Course
of conduct. -- Two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in
which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action,
method, device, or means, is in the presence of, or follows, monitors, observes,
surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a
person's property.
(2)
Harasses or harassment. --
Knowing conduct, including written or printed communication or
transmission, telephone, cellular, or other wireless telephonic communication,
facsimile transmission, pager messages or transmissions, answering machine or
voice mail messages or transmissions, and electronic mail messages or other
computerized or electronic transmissions directed at a specific person that
torments, terrorizes, or terrifies that person and that serves no legitimate
purpose.
(3)
Reasonable person. -- A
reasonable person in the victim's circumstances.
(4)
Substantial emotional distress. --
Significant mental suffering or distress that may, but does not
necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or
counseling.
(c)
Offense. -- A defendant is
guilty of stalking
if the defendant willfully on more than one occasion harasses another person
without legal purpose or willfully engages in a course of conduct directed at a
specific person without legal purpose and the defendant knows or should know
that the harassment or the course of conduct would cause a reasonable person to
do any of the following:
(1)
Fear
for the person's safety or the safety of the person's immediate family or close
personal associates.
(2)
Suffer
substantial emotional distress by placing that person in fear of death, bodily
injury, or continued harassment.
(d)
Classification. -- A
violation of this section is a Class A1 misdemeanor. A defendant convicted of a
Class A1 misdemeanor under this section, who is sentenced to a community
punishment, shall be placed on supervised probation in addition to any other
punishment imposed by the court. A defendant who commits the offense of stalking
after having been previously convicted of a stalking
offense is guilty of a Class F felony. A defendant who commits the offense of
stalking
when there is a court order in effect prohibiting the conduct described under
this section by the defendant against the victim is guilty of a Class H
felony.
(e)
Jurisdiction. -- Pursuant to
G.S.
15A-134, if any part of the offense occurred within North
Carolina, including the defendant's
course of conduct or the effect on the victim, then the defendant may be
prosecuted in this State.
N.C. Gen. Stat. §
14-196.3. Cyberstalking. (2000)
(a)
The
following definitions apply in this section:
(1)
Electronic communication.
-- Any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or
intelligence of any nature, transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio,
computer, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical
system.
(2)
Electronic mail. -- The
transmission of information or communication by the use of the Internet, a
computer, a facsimile machine, a pager, a cellular telephone, a video recorder,
or other electronic means sent to a person identified by a unique address or
address number and received by that person.
(b)
It is
unlawful for a person to:
(1)
Use in
electronic mail or electronic communication any words or language threatening to
inflict bodily harm to any person or to that person's child, sibling, spouse, or
dependent, or physical injury to the property of any person, or for the purpose
of extorting money or other things of value from any
person.
(2)
Electronically mail or
electronically communicate to another repeatedly, whether or not conversation
ensues, for the purpose of abusing, annoying, threatening, terrifying,
harassing, or embarrassing any person.
(3)
Electronically mail or
electronically communicate to another and to knowingly make any false statement
concerning death, injury, illness, disfigurement, indecent conduct, or criminal
conduct of the person electronically mailed or of any member of the person's
family or household with the intent to abuse, annoy, threaten, terrify, harass,
or embarrass.
(4)
Knowingly permit an electronic
communication device under the person's control to be used for any purpose
prohibited by this section.
(c)
Any
offense under this section committed by the use of electronic mail or electronic
communication may be deemed to have been committed where the electronic mail or
electronic communication was originally sent, originally received in this State,
or first viewed by any person in this State.
(d)
Any
person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 2
misdemeanor.
(e)
This
section does not apply to any peaceable, nonviolent, or nonthreatening activity
intended to express political views or to provide lawful information to others.
This section shall not be construed to impair any constitutionally protected
activity, including speech, protest, or assembly.
N.C. Gen. Stat. §
14-277.1. Communicating threats.
(1999)
(a)
A
person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if without lawful
authority:
(1)
He
willfully threatens to physically injure the person or that person's child,
sibling, spouse, or dependent or willfully threatens to damage the property of
another;
(2)
The
threat is
communicated to the other person, orally, in writing, or by any other
means;
(3)
The
threat is
made in a manner and under circumstances which would cause a reasonable person
to believe that the threat is
likely to be carried out; and
(4)
The
person threatened believes that the threat
will be carried out.
(b)
A
violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
N.C. Gen. Stat. §
14-196. Using profane, indecent or threatening
language to any person over telephone; annoying or harassing by repeated telephoning
or making false statements over telephone. (2000)
(a)
It
shall be unlawful for any person:
(1)
To use
in telephonic communications any words or language of a profane,
vulgar, lewd, lascivious or indecent character, nature or
connotation;
(2)
To use
in telephonic communications any words or language threatening to inflict bodily
harm to any person or to that person's child, sibling, spouse, or dependent or
physical injury to the property of any person, or for the purpose of extorting
money or other things of value from any person;
(3)
To
telephone another repeatedly, whether or not conversation ensues, for the
purpose of abusing, annoying, threatening, terrifying, harassing or embarrassing
any person at the called number;
(4)
To make
a telephone call and fail to hang up or disengage the connection with the intent
to disrupt the service of another;
(5)
To
telephone another and to knowingly make any false statement concerning death,
injury, illness, disfigurement, indecent conduct or criminal conduct of the
person telephoned or of any member of his family or household with the intent to
abuse, annoy, threaten, terrify, harass, or embarrass;
(6)
To
knowingly permit any telephone under his control to be used for any purpose
prohibited by this section.
(b)
Any of
the above offenses may be deemed to have been committed at either the place at
which the telephone call or calls were made or at the place where the telephone
call or calls were received. For purposes of this section, the term "telephonic
communications" shall include communications made or received by way of a
telephone answering machine or recorder, telefacsimile machine, or computer
modem.
(c)
Anyone
violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 2
misdemeanor.