Stalking
720 ILCS 5/12-7.3. Stalking. (2010)
(a)
A
person commits stalking when he or she knowingly engages in a course of
conduct directed at a specific person, and he or she knows or should know that
this course of conduct would cause a reasonable person
to:
(1)
fear
for his or her safety or the safety of a third person;
or
(2)
suffer
other emotional distress.
(a-3) A person commits stalking
when he or she, knowingly and without lawful justification, on
at
least 2 separate occasions follows another person or places the person under
surveillance or any combination thereof and:
(1)
at
any time transmits a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual
assault, confinement or restraint
and the threat is directed towards that person or a family member of that
person; or
(2)
places
that person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm,
sexual assault, confinement or restraint; or
(3)
places
that person in reasonable apprehension that a family member will receive
immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or
restraint.
(a-5) A person commits stalking
when he or she has previously been convicted of stalking another person and
knowingly and without lawful justification on one
occasion:
(1) follows
that same person or places that same person under surveillance;
and
(2)
transmits
a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement or
restraint; and
(3)
the
threat is directed towards that person or a family member of that
person.
(b)
Sentence.
Stalking is a Class 4 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for stalking
is a Class 3 felony.
(c)
Definitions. For purposes of this
Section:
(1)
"Course
of conduct" means 2 or more acts, including but not limited to acts in which a
defendant directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action,
method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or
communicates to or about, a person, engages in other non-consensual contact,
or interferes with or damages a person's property or pet. A course of conduct
may include contact via electronic communications.
(2)
"Electronic
communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writings, sounds, data,
or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire,
radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical system. "Electronic
communication" includes transmissions by a computer through the Internet to
another computer.
(3)
"Emotional
distress" means significant mental suffering, anxiety or
alarm.
(4)
"Family
member" means a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, or child, whether by
whole blood, half-blood, or adoption and includes a step-grandparent,
step-parent, step-brother, step-sister or step-child. "Family member" also
means any other person who regularly resides in the household, or who, within
the prior 6 months, regularly resided in the household.
(5)
"Follows
another person" means (i) to move in relative proximity to a person as that
person moves from place to place or (ii) to remain in relative proximity to a
person who is stationary or whose movements are confined to a small area.
"Follows another person" does not include a following within the residence of
the defendant.
(6)
"Non-consensual
contact" means any contact with the victim that is initiated or continued
without the victim's consent, including but not limited to being in the
physical presence of the victim; appearing within the sight of the victim;
approaching or confronting the victim in a public place or on private
property; appearing at the workplace or residence of the victim; entering onto
or remaining on property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim; or placing
an object on, or delivering an object to, property owned, leased, or occupied
by the victim.
(7)
"Places
a person under surveillance" means: (1) remaining present outside the person's
school, place of employment, vehicle, other place occupied by the person, or
residence other than the residence of the defendant; or (2) placing an
electronic tracking device on the person or the person's
property.
(8)
"Reasonable
person" means a person in the victim's situation.
(9)
"Transmits
a threat" means a verbal or written threat or a threat implied by a pattern of
conduct or a combination of verbal or written statements or
conduct.
(d)
Exemptions.
(1)
This
Section does not apply to any individual or organization (i) monitoring or
attentive to compliance with public or worker safety laws, wage and hour
requirements, or other statutory requirements, or (ii) picketing occurring at
the workplace that is otherwise lawful and arises out of a bona fide labor
dispute, including any controversy concerning wages, salaries, hours, working
conditions or benefits, including health and welfare, sick leave, insurance,
and pension or retirement provisions, the making or maintaining of collective
bargaining agreements, and the terms to be included in those
agreements.
(2)
This
Section does not apply to an exercise of the right to free speech or assembly
that is otherwise lawful.
(3)
Telecommunications
carriers, commercial mobile service providers, and providers of information
services, including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and
hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section, except for
willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the transmission, storage, or
caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by virtue of the
provision of other related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or
information services used by others in violation of this
Section.
(d-5)
The incarceration of
a person in a penal institution who commits the course of conduct or transmits
a threat is not a bar to prosecution under this
Section.
720 ILCS
5/12-7.4.
Aggravated stalking.
(2010)
(a) A
person commits aggravated stalking when he or she, in conjunction with
committing the offense of stalking, also does any of the
following:
(1)
causes
bodily harm to the victim;
(2)
confines
or restrains the victim; or
(3)
violates
a temporary restraining order, an order of protection, a stalking no contact
order, a civil no contact order, or an injunction prohibiting the behavior
described in subsection (b)(1) of Section 214 of the Illinois Domestic
Violence Act of 1986 [750 ILCS 60/214].
(b) Sentence.
Aggravated stalking is a Class 3 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for
aggravated stalking is a Class 2 felony.
(c) Exemptions.
(1)
This
Section does not apply to any individual or organization (i) monitoring or
attentive to compliance with public or worker safety laws, wage and hour
requirements, or other statutory requirements, or (ii) picketing occurring at
the workplace that is otherwise lawful and arises out of a bona fide labor
dispute including any controversy concerning wages, salaries, hours, working
conditions or benefits, including health and welfare, sick leave, insurance,
and pension or retirement provisions, the managing or maintenance of
collective bargaining agreements, and the terms to be included in those
agreements.
(2)
This
Section does not apply to an exercise of the right of free speech or assembly
that is otherwise lawful.
(3)
Telecommunications
carriers, commercial mobile service providers, and providers of information
services, including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and
hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section, except for
willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the transmission, storage, or
caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by virtue of the
provision of other related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or
information services used by others in violation of this
Section.
§ 720 ILCS
5/12-7.5.
Cyberstalking. (2010)
(a)
A
person commits cyberstalking when he or she engages in a course of conduct
using electronic communication directed at a specific person, and he or she
knows or should know that would cause a reasonable person
to:
(1)
fear
for his or her safety or the safety of a third person;
or
(2)
suffer
other emotional distress.
(a-3) A person commits cyberstalking when he
or she, knowingly and without
lawful
justification, on at least 2 separate occasions, harasses another person
through the use of electronic communication and:
(1)
at
any time transmits a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual
assault, confinement, or restraint and the threat is directed towards that
person or a family member of that person, or
(2)
places
that person or a family member of that person in reasonable apprehension of
immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint;
or
(3)
at
any time knowingly solicits the commission of an act by any person which would
be a violation of this Code directed towards that person or a family member of
that person.
(a-5) A person commits cyberstalking when he
or she, knowingly and without lawful justification, creates and maintains an
Internet website or webpage which is accessible to one or more third parties
for a period of at least 24 hours, and which contains statements harassing
another person and:
(1)
which
communicates a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault,
confinement, or restraint, where the threat is directed towards that person or
a family member of that person, or
(2)
which
places that person or a family member of that person in reasonable
apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement,
or restraint, or
(3)
which
knowingly solicits the commission of an act by any person which would be a
violation of this Code directed towards that person or a family member of that
person.
(b)
Sentence.
Cyberstalking is a Class 4 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for
cyberstalking is a Class 3 felony.
(c)
For
purposes of this Section:
(1)
"Course
of conduct" means 2 or more acts, including but not limited to acts in which a
defendant directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action,
method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or
communicates to or about, a person, engages in other non-consensual contact,
or interferes with or damages a person's property or pet. The incarceration in
a penal institution of a person who commits the course of conduct is not a bar
to prosecution under this Section.
(2)
"Electronic
communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writings, sounds, data,
or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire,
radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical system. "Electronic
communication" includes transmissions by a computer through the Internet to
another computer.
(3)
"Emotional
distress" means significant mental suffering, anxiety or
alarm.
(4)
"Harass"
means to engage in a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a
specific person that alarms, torments, or terrorizes that
person.
(5)
"Non-consensual
contact" means any contact with the victim that is initiated or continued
without the victim's consent, including but not limited to being in the
physical presence of the victim; appearing within the sight of the victim;
approaching or confronting the victim in a public place or on private
property; appearing at the workplace or residence of the victim; entering onto
or remaining on property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim; or placing
an object on, or delivering an object to, property owned, leased, or occupied
by the victim.
(6)
"Reasonable
person" means a person in the victim's circumstances, with the victim's
knowledge of the defendant and the defendant's prior
acts.
(7)
"Third
party" means any person other than the person violating these provisions and
the person or persons towards whom the violator's actions are
directed.
(d)
Telecommunications
carriers, commercial mobile service providers, and providers of information
services, including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and
hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section, except for
willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the transmission, storage, or
caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by virtue of the
provision of other related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or
information services used by others in violation of this
Section.
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Harassment
720 ILCS 135/1. [Prior to 1/1/93 cited as: Ill. Rev.
Stat., Ch. 134, para. 16.4]. Sending
obscene messages. (1998)
Any person in this State who
sends messages or uses language or terms which are obscene, lewd or immoral
with the intent to offend by means of or while using a telephone or telegraph
facilities, equipment or wires of any person, firm or corporation engaged in
the transmission of news or messages between states or within the State of
Illinois
is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. The use of language or terms which are
obscene, lewd or immoral is prima facie evidence of the intent to offend.
720 ILCS 135/1-1. [Prior to
1/1/93 cited as: Ill. Rev. Stat., Ch. 134, para. 16.4-1]. Harassment
by telephone. (2001)
Harassment by telephone is use
of telephone communication for any of the following
purposes:
(1)
Making any comment, request,
suggestion or proposal which is obscene,
lewd, lascivious, filthy or indecent with an intent to offend;
or
(2)
Making a telephone call, whether
or not conversation ensues, with intent to abuse, threaten or harass any
person at the called number; or
(3)
Making or causing the telephone
of another repeatedly to ring, with intent to harass any person at the called
number; or
(4)
Making repeated telephone calls,
during which conversation ensues, solely to harass any person at the called
number; or
(4.1) Making a telephone call or
knowingly inducing a person to make a
telephone call for the purpose
of harassing
another person who is under 13 years of age, regardless of whether the person
under 13 years of age consents to the harassment, if the defendant is at least
16 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense;
or
(5)
Knowingly permitting any
telephone under one's control to be used for any of the purposes mentioned
herein.
Every telephone directory
published for distribution to members of the general public shall contain a
notice setting forth a summary of the provisions of this Section. Such notice
shall be printed in type which is no smaller than any other type on the same
page and shall be preceded by the word "WARNING". All telephone companies in
this State shall cooperate with law enforcement agencies in using their
facilities and personnel to detect and prevent violations of this
Act.
720 ILCS 135/1-2. Harassment through electronic
communications. (2009)
(a) Harassment through electronic
communications is the use of electronic communication for any of the following
purposes:
(1)
Making any comment, request,
suggestion or proposal which is obscene with an intent to
offend;
(2)
Interrupting, with the intent to
harass, the telephone service or the electronic communication service of any
person;
(3)
Transmitting to any person, with
the intent to harass and regardless of whether the communication is read in
its entirety or at all, any file, document, or other communication which
prevents that person from using his or her telephone service or electronic
communications device;
(3.1) Transmitting an electronic
communication or knowingly inducing a
person to transmit an electronic
communication for the purpose of harassing another person who is under 13
years of age, regardless of whether the person under 13 years of age consents
to the harassment, if the defendant is at least 16 years of age at the time of
the commission of the offense;
(4)
Threatening injury to the person
or to the property of the person to whom an electronic communication is
directed or to any of his or her family or household members;
or
(5)
Knowingly permitting any
electronic communications device to be used for any of the purposes mentioned
in this subsection (a).
(a-5) Telecommunications carriers, commercial
mobile service providers, and
providers of
information services, including, but not limited to, Internet service
providers and hosting service providers, are not liable under this Section,
except for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the transmission,
storage, or caching of electronic communications or messages of others or by
virtue of the provision of other related telecommunications, commercial mobile
services, or information services used by others in violation of this
Section.
(b) As used in this
Act:
(1)
"Electronic communication" means
any transfer of signs, signals, writings, images, sounds, data or intelligence
of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio,
electromagnetic, photoelectric or photo-optical system. "Electronic
communication" includes transmissions by a computer through the Internet to
another computer.
(2)
"Family or household member"
includes spouses, former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other
persons related by blood or by present or prior marriage, persons who share or
formerly shared a common dwelling, persons who have or allegedly share a blood
relationship through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or
engagement relationship, and persons with disabilities and their personal
assistants. For purposes of this Act, neither a casual acquaintanceship nor
ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in business or social contexts
shall be deemed to constitute a dating relationship.
(c) Telecommunications carriers,
commercial mobile service providers, and providers of information services,
including, but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting service
providers, are not liable under this Section, except for willful and wanton
misconduct, by virtue of the transmission, storage, or caching of electronic
communications or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other
related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or information
services used by others in violation of this Section.
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Related
Offenses
720 ILCS 5/26-4. Unauthorized
video recording and live video transmission.
(2010)
(a)
It is
unlawful for any person to knowingly make a video record or transmit live
video of another person without that person's consent in a restroom, tanning
bed, tanning salon, locker room, changing room, or hotel
bedroom.
(a-5) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly
make a video record or transmit live
video of another person in that other person's residence without that person's consent.
(a-6) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly
make a video record or transmit live
video of another person in that other person's residence without that person's consent when the recording or
transmission is made outside that person's residence by use of an audio
or video device that records or
transmits from a remote location.
(a-10) It is unlawful
for any person to knowingly make a video record or transmit live video of
another person under or through the clothing worn by that other person for the
purpose of viewing the body of or
the undergarments worn by that other person without that person's
consent.
(a-15) It is unlawful
for any person to place or cause to be placed a device that makes a video
record or transmits a live video in a restroom,
tanning bed, tanning salon, locker room, changing room, or
hotel bedroom with the intent to
make a video record or transmit live video of another person without that
person's consent.
(a-20) It is unlawful
for any person to place or cause to be placed a device that makes a video
record or transmits a live video with the intent to make a video record or transmit live video of another
person in that other person's residence without that person's
consent.
(a-25)
It is unlawful for any person to, by any means, knowingly
disseminate, or permit to be
disseminated, a video record or live video that he or she knows to have been
made or transmitted in violation of (a), (a-5), (a-6), (a-10), (a-15), or
(a-20).
(b)
Exemptions. The following
activities shall be exempt from the provisions of this
Section:
(1)
The
making of a video record or transmission of live video by law enforcement
officers pursuant to a criminal investigation, which is otherwise
lawful;
(2)
The
making of a video record or transmission of live video by correctional
officials for security reasons or for investigation of alleged misconduct
involving a person committed to the Department of
Corrections.
(3)
The
making of a video record or transmission of live video in a locker room by a
reporter or news medium, as those terms are defined in Section 8-902 of the
Code of Civil Procedure [735
ILCS 5/8-902],
where the reporter or news medium has been granted access to the locker room
by an appropriate authority for the purpose of conducting
interviews.
(c)
The
provisions of this Section do not apply to any sound recording or transmission
of an oral conversation made as the result of the making of a video record or
transmission of live video, and to which Article 14 of this Code [720
ILCS 5/14-1 et
seq.] applies.
(d)
Sentence.
(1)
A
violation of subsection (a-10), (a-15), or (a-20) is a Class A
misdemeanor.
(2)
A
violation of subsection (a), (a-5), or (a-6) is a Class 4
felony.
(3)
A
violation of subsection (a-25) is a Class 3
felony.
(4)
A
violation of subsection (a), (a-5), (a-6), (a-10), (a-15) or (a-20) is a Class
3 felony if the victim is a person under 18 years of age or if the violation
is committed by an individual who is required to register as a sex offender
under the Sex Offender Registration Act [730
ILCS 150/1 et
seq.].
(5)
A
violation of subsection (a-25) is a Class 2 felony if the victim is a person
under 18 years of age or if the violation is committed by an individual who is
required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration
Act.
(e)
For
purposes of this Section:
(1)
"Residence" includes a rental
dwelling, but does not include stairwells, corridors, laundry facilities, or
additional areas in which the general public has
access.
(2)
"Video record" means and
includes any videotape, photograph, film, or other electronic or digital
recording of a still or moving visual image; and "live video" means and
includes any real-time or contemporaneous electronic or digital transmission
of a still or moving visual image.
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