Stalking
D.C.
Code § 22-501. Legislative
Intent. (2009)
(a)
The
Council finds that stalking is a serious problem in this city and nationwide.
Stalking involves severe intrusions on the victim's personal privacy and
autonomy. It is a crime that can have 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 Council 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 Council enacts this law to encourage effective intervention by
the criminal justice system before stalking escalates into behavior that has
even more serious or lethal consequences.
(b)
The
Council enacts this stalking statute to permit the criminal justice system to
hold stalkers accountable for a wide range of acts, communications, and
conduct. The Council recognizes that stalking includes, but is not limited to,
a pattern of following or monitoring the victim, or committing violent or
intimidating acts against the victim, regardless of the
means.
D.C.
Code § 22-502. Definitions.
(2009)
For
the purposes of this title, the term:
(1)
"Any
device" means electronic, mechanical, digital or any other equipment, including: a camera, spycam, computer,
spyware, microphone, audio or video recorder, global positioning system,
electronic monitoring system, listening device, night-vision goggles,
binoculars, telescope, or spyglass.
(2)
"Any means" includes the use of a
telephone, mail, delivery service, e-mail, website, or other method of
communication or any device.
(3)
"Communicating"
means using oral or written language, photographs, pictures, signs, symbols,
gestures, or other acts or objects that are intended to convey a
message.
(4)
"Emotional
distress" means significant mental suffering or distress that may, but does
not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or
counseling;
(5)
"Financial
injury" means the monetary costs, debts, or obligations incurred as a result
of the stalking by the specific individual, member of the specific
individual's household, a person whose safety is threatened by the stalking,
or a person who is financially responsible for the specific individual and
includes:
(A)
The
costs of replacing or repairing any property that was taken or
damaged;
(B)
The
costs of clearing the specific individual's name or his or her credit,
criminal, or any other official record;
(C)
Medical
bills;
(D)
Relocation
expenses;
(E)
Lost
employment or wages; and
(F)
Attorney's
fees.
(6)
"Specific individual" or "individual"
means the victim or alleged victim of stalking.
(7)
"To engage in a course of conduct"
means directly or indirectly, or through one or more third persons, in person
or by any means, on 2 or more occasions, to:
(A)
Follow,
monitor, place under surveillance, threaten, or communicate to or about
another individual;
(B)
Interfere
with, damage, take, or unlawfully enter an individual's real or personal
property or threaten or attempt to do so; or
(C)
Use
another individual's personal identifying information as defined in the
District of Columbia Theft and White Collar Crimes Act of 1982, effective
March 27, 2004 (D.C. Law 15-106; D.C. Official Code §
22-3227.01(3)).
D.C.
Code § 22-503. Stalking.
(2009)
(a)
It is
unlawful for a person to purposefully engage in a course of conduct directed
at a specific individual:
(1)
With
the intent to cause that individual to:
(A)
Fear
for his or her safety or the safety of another person;
(B)
Feel
seriously alarmed, disturbed, or frightened; or
(C)
Suffer
emotional distress;
(2)
That
the person knows would cause that individual reasonably to:
(A)
Fear
for his or her safety or the safety of another person;
(B)
Feel
seriously alarmed, disturbed, or frightened; or
(C)
Suffer
emotional distress; or
(3)
That
the person should have known would cause a reasonable person in the
individual's circumstances to:
(A)
Fear
for his or her safety or the safety of another person;
(B)
Feel
seriously alarmed, disturbed, or frightened; or
(C)
Suffer
emotional distress.
(b)
This
section does not apply to constitutionally protected activity.
(c)
Where
a single act is of a continuing nature, each 24-hour period constitutes a
separate occasion.
(d)
The
conduct on each of the occasions need not be the same as it is on the
others.
D.C. Code §
22-504. Penalties. (2009)
(a)
Except
as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a person who violates section
503 shall be fined not more than $1,000, imprisoned for not more than 12
months, or both.
(b)
A
person who violates section 503 shall be fined not more than $10,000,
imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, if the
person:
(1)
At
the time, was subject to a court, parole, or supervised release order
prohibiting contact with the specific individual;
(2)
Has
one prior conviction in any jurisdiction of stalking any person within the
previous 10 years;
(3)
At
the time, was at least 4 years older than the specific individual and the
specific individual was less than 18 years of age; or
(4)
Caused
more than $ 2,500 in financial injury
(c)
A
person who violates section 503 and who has 2 or more prior convictions in any
jurisdiction for stalking any person, at least one of which was for a jury
demandable offense, shall be fined not more than $ 25,000, imprisoned for not
more than 10 years, or both.
(d)
A
person shall not be sentenced consecutively for stalking and identify theft
based on the same act or course of conduct.
D.C.
Code § 22-50. Jurisdiction.
(2009)
(a)
An
offense shall be deemed to be committed in the District
of Columbia if the conduct on at least one occasion was initiated
in the District of Columbia or had an effect
on the specific individual in the District of Columbia.
(b)
A
communication shall be deemed to be committed in the District of Columbia if it is made or received in the
District of Columbia or, if the specific
individual lives in the District of Columbia,
it can be electronically accessed in the District of Columbia.
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Related
Offenses
D.C. Code §
22-407.Threats to do bodily harm.
Formerly § 22-507]. (1981)
Whoever is
convicted in the District of threats to do bodily
harm shall be fined not more than $ 500 or imprisoned not more
than 6 months, or both, and, in addition thereto, or in lieu thereof, may be
required to give bond to keep the peace for a period not exceeding 1 year.
D.C. Code § 22-3531. Definitions;
prohibited "Peeping Tom" activities; permitted surveillance activities;
enforcement and penalty. (2007)
(a)
For
the purposes of this section, the term:
(1)
"Electronic device" means any
electronic, mechanical, or digital equipment that captures visual or aural
images, including cameras, computers, tape recorders, video recorders, and
cellular telephones.
(2)
"Private area" means the naked
or undergarment-clad genitals, pubic area, anus, or buttocks, or female breast
below the top of the areola.
(b)
Except as provided in subsection
(e) of this section, it is unlawful for any person to occupy a hidden
observation post or to install or maintain a peephole, mirror, or any
electronic device for the purpose of secretly or surreptitiously observing an
individual who is:
(1)
Using
a bathroom or rest room;
(2)
Totally or partially undressed
or changing clothes; or
(3)
Engaging in sexual activity.
(c)
(1)
Except as provided in subsection
(e) of this section, it is unlawful for a person to electronically record,
without the express and informed consent of the individual being recorded, an
individual who is:
(A)
Using
a bathroom or rest room;
(B)
Totally or partially undressed
or changing clothes; or
(C)
Engaging in sexual activity.
(2)
Express and informed consent is
only required when the individual engaged in these activities has a reasonable
expectation of privacy.
(d)
Except as provided in subsection
(e) of this section, it is unlawful for a person to intentionally capture an
image of a private area of an individual, under circumstances in which the
individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy, without the individual's
express and informed consent.
(e)
This
section does not prohibit the following:
(1)
Any
lawful law enforcement, correctional, or intelligence observation or
surveillance;
(2)
Security monitoring in one's own
home;
(3)
Security monitoring in any
building where there are signs prominently displayed informing persons that
the entire premises or designated portions of the premises are under
surveillance; or
(4)
Any
electronic recording of a medical procedure which is conducted under
circumstances where the patient is unable to give consent.
(f)
(1)
A
person who violates subsection (b), (c), or (d) of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $ 1,000 or
imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.
(2)
A
person who distributes or disseminates, or attempts to distribute or
disseminate, directly or indirectly, by any means, a photograph, film,
videotape, audiotape, compact disc, digital video disc, or any other image or
series of images or sounds or series of sounds that the person knows or has
reason to know were taken in violation of subsection (b), (c), or (d) of this
section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more
than $ 5,000 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.
(g)
The
Attorney General for the District of
Columbia, or his or her assistants, shall prosecute a
violation of subsection (b), (c), or (d) of this section for which the penalty
is set forth in subsection (f)(1) of this section.
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