Is stalking a felony?

Stalking is a pattern of conduct aimed at one person, such as following, harassing, monitoring or threatening them, that causes fear or serious distress. A single incident is usually not enough.^{1,2,3,4,5,6,7}

Texas requires conduct on more than one occasion that is part of the same scheme or course of conduct. Florida requires someone to willfully, maliciously and repeatedly follow, harass or cyberstalk another person. North Carolina covers willfully harassing someone on more than one occasion or engaging in a course of conduct that would make a reasonable person fear for their safety or suffer substantial emotional distress. Illinois requires a course of conduct of two or more acts. Virginia requires conduct on more than one occasion. Illinois has a narrow exception: a person with a prior stalking conviction can be charged after one occasion of following plus a threat.

Stalking laws usually cover online and electronic contact, not just following someone in person.^2,3,4,5,6

Florida defines cyberstalking as a course of conduct communicated through email or other electronic communication, or accessing someone's online accounts or connected home systems without permission. North Carolina counts email and other electronic transmissions as harassment. Illinois says a course of conduct may include electronic communications. Pennsylvania counts electronic communication. Virginia covers conduct through mail, telephone or an electronically transmitted communication.

In most of the states checked here, a first stalking offense with no aggravating factor, such as a prior conviction or a court order, is a misdemeanor.^{2,3,5,6,8,9,10,11}

Florida makes it a first-degree misdemeanor. New York makes stalking in the fourth degree a class B misdemeanor and stalking in the third degree a class A misdemeanor. Georgia makes it a misdemeanor. Pennsylvania makes a first offense a first-degree misdemeanor. Ohio's menacing by stalking is a first-degree misdemeanor. North Carolina makes it a Class A1 misdemeanor. Virginia makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Some states make stalking a felony even for a first offense. Texas makes it a third-degree felony. Illinois makes it a Class 4 felony.^1,4,7

California lets stalking be punished by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000, or by imprisonment in state prison, so a first offense can be a felony there too.

In some states, a threat or a weapon makes stalking a felony.^2,7,11,12

Florida makes stalking with a credible threat aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony. Ohio makes menacing by stalking a fourth-degree felony when the person made a threat of physical harm to the victim, or had a deadly weapon while stalking in person. New York makes stalking in the second degree a class E felony when the person displays a weapon, or what appears to be a firearm, or possesses a weapon and threatens to use it, during stalking that is likely to cause reasonable fear of physical injury. California requires a credible threat for stalking in every case.

Stalking in violation of a protective order or other court order is a felony in most of the states checked here.^2,3,7,13,14

Florida makes it aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony. Georgia makes aggravated stalking a felony punishable by one to 10 years and a fine of up to $10,000. Illinois makes aggravated stalking, which includes violating an order of protection, a Class 3 felony. North Carolina makes stalking while a court order is in effect a Class H felony. California punishes it by two, three or four years in state prison.

A prior stalking conviction can make a new stalking charge a felony or a higher felony.^{1,3,4,5,6,10,11}

Georgia makes a second or later stalking conviction a felony punishable by one to 10 years. Virginia makes a second offense within five years a Class 6 felony. North Carolina makes stalking after a prior stalking conviction a Class F felony. Pennsylvania makes a second or later offense a third-degree felony. Illinois makes a second or later stalking conviction a Class 3 felony. Ohio makes it a fourth-degree felony after a prior conviction for menacing by stalking or aggravated trespass. Texas makes it a second-degree felony after a prior stalking conviction.

Stalking a child can be a felony from the start in some states. Florida makes stalking a child under 16 aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony. Ohio makes menacing by stalking a fourth-degree felony when the victim is a minor. New York makes stalking in the second degree a class E felony when someone 21 or older repeatedly follows a person under 14, or engages in a course of conduct that intentionally places or tries to place the child in reasonable fear of physical injury, serious physical injury or death.^2,11,12

Injury or confinement can raise stalking to a more serious felony. Illinois makes stalking that causes bodily harm or confines the victim aggravated stalking, a Class 3 felony. New York makes stalking in the first degree a class D felony when it involves intentionally or recklessly causing physical injury.^14,15

Texas

Texas: Stalking is a third-degree felony. It is a second-degree felony if the person was previously convicted of stalking.¹

The prior conviction can also be a substantially similar offense under another state's law, tribal law, territorial law or federal law.

Florida

Florida: Stalking is a first-degree misdemeanor. Aggravated stalking is a third-degree felony.²

Aggravated stalking covers stalking with a credible threat, stalking after an injunction or other court-imposed prohibition, stalking a child under 16, and stalking a victim after being sentenced for certain sex offenses and prohibited from contacting the victim.

California

California: Stalking, which requires a credible threat, is punishable by up to one year in county jail or by imprisonment in state prison. Stalking in violation of a court order is punishable by two, three or four years in state prison.^7,16

Penal Code § 646.9 also sets a fine of up to $1,000. Stalking after an earlier felony conviction under § 646.9(a) is punishable by two, three or five years in state prison. Section 17(b) allows some offenses that carry a choice between state prison and county jail to be treated as misdemeanors in the situations it lists.

New York

New York: Stalking in the fourth degree is a class B misdemeanor and stalking in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor. Stalking in the second degree is a class E felony, and stalking in the first degree is a class D felony.^8,9,12,15

Third-degree stalking includes stalking against three or more people, stalking with intent to harass, annoy or alarm that is likely to cause reasonable fear of physical injury, and a second fourth-degree stalking conviction within ten years. Second-degree stalking includes displaying a weapon, stalking a person under 14, and stalking ten or more people. First-degree stalking requires physical injury or certain sex-crime conduct on top of third- or second-degree stalking.

Georgia

Georgia: Stalking is a misdemeanor, but a second or later conviction is a felony punishable by one to 10 years. Aggravated stalking is a felony punishable by one to 10 years.^10,13

Aggravated stalking covers stalking in violation of a bond to keep the peace, a restraining or protective order, an injunction, or a condition of pretrial release, probation or parole. It also carries a fine of up to $10,000.

Illinois

Illinois: Stalking is a Class 4 felony. A second or later conviction is a Class 3 felony.^4,14

Aggravated stalking, which involves causing bodily harm, confining or restraining the victim, or violating certain orders such as an order of protection, is a Class 3 felony, or a Class 2 felony for a second or later conviction.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania: A first stalking offense is a first-degree misdemeanor. A second or later offense is a third-degree felony.⁵

A first offense is also a third-degree felony if the person was previously convicted of a crime of violence involving the same victim or a family or household member, such as simple assault, aggravated assault, strangulation or kidnapping.

Ohio

Ohio: Menacing by stalking is a first-degree misdemeanor. It is a fourth-degree felony if any of nine listed factors applies.¹¹

Those factors are a prior conviction for menacing by stalking or aggravated trespass; a threat of physical harm to the victim; trespassing where the victim lives, works or goes to school; a victim who is a minor; a history of violence toward the victim or anyone else; having a deadly weapon while stalking in person; being subject to a protection order under § 2903.213 or § 2903.214; causing serious physical harm to the victim's home or property there; or an earlier finding that the person posed a substantial risk of physical harm to others. Stalking a children services worker over their job is a fifth-degree felony, or a fourth-degree felony with a qualifying prior offense.

Stalking is also a federal crime when someone travels across state lines, or uses the mail or an internet or electronic communication service, with intent to kill, injure, harass or intimidate, and the conduct puts the victim in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury or causes, or would reasonably be expected to cause, substantial emotional distress. The penalty is up to five years in most cases.^17,18,19

Under 18 U.S.C. § 2261, the penalty is up to 10 years if serious bodily injury results or a dangerous weapon is used, up to 20 years if permanent disfigurement or life-threatening bodily injury results, and any term of years or life if death results. Stalking in violation of a protective order, restraining order or no-contact order carries at least one year. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2261B, the maximum is five years higher when the victim is under 18, with limited exceptions.

In California, a court may order a person convicted of felony stalking to register as a sex offender. The court must also consider issuing a restraining order that can last up to 10 years.^2,7

The registration rule is in Penal Code § 646.9(d), which refers to Penal Code § 290.006, and the restraining order rule is in § 646.9(k). Florida's stalking law also requires the sentencing court to consider an order barring contact with the victim for up to 10 years.