Stalking Defense Lawyer in Tampa

Misdemeanor vs. felony stalking in Florida

Florida law recognizes multiple degrees of this crime. In order to establish a case for a defendant to be convicted of first degree misdemeanor stalking, the prosecution must prove the defendant harassed the alleged victim. Harassment is defined as engaging in a course of conduct that has no legitimate purpose, but causes the alleged victim substantial emotional distress. Florida also recognizes the elevated offense of aggravated stalking, which is a third degree felony. Aggravated stalking in Tampa can be filed under several subsections:

Subsection 3: Stalking with a credible threat

In order to prove stalking with a credible threat, prosecutors must first establish the required elements of a first degree charge. The prosecution must also prove:

• The defendant made a credible threat against a life or a threat to do bodily harm to the victim with the intent to cause the victim to fear for his or her safety and
• The threat was made with the intent to cause the victim to reasonably fear death or bodily injury or the death of or bodily injury to the victim’s spouse, child, sibling, or parent.

Subsection 4: Stalking after an injunction for protection

In some cases, a person may obtain a court-ordered injunction in the interest of preventing another person from making contact. Section 4 applies to protective orders that are issued in cases that involve repeated violence offenses, sexual violence, dating violence, or domestic violence. The aggravated offense of Stalking After an Injunction for Protection occurs when an individual who has been ordered to stay away from another person violates the court order by making prohibited contact.

Subsection 5: Stalking with a child under 16 years of age

In Florida, stalking a minor who is under 16 years of age automatically qualifies as an aggravated offense. Therefore, the prosecution must simply establish that the victim was under 16 in addition to proving all the elements of the misdemeanor offense of first-degree stalking.

Subsection 7: Stalking with a specified no contact order

Stalking that occurs after the alleged perpetrator had been convicted of certain offenses is automatically elevated to an aggravated offense. Crimes that cause a misdemeanor charge to be elevated include:

• sexual battery
• lewd or lascivious offenses committed against or in the presence of a person under 16 years of age
• crimes involving certain computer transmissions

In addition to having been convicted of one of these aforementioned offenses, the accused must have also been ordered by a court to cease all contact with the victim.

Defenses against stalking

Occasionally, a Tampa resident may be wrongfully accused of stalking. For example, if two people who are romantically involved break up, and one party is required to pass by the other party’s apartment building on the way to work, the party who passes by the apartment each day would not likely be convicted of stalking if he or she is able to prove that the apartment building if along the route to work and that he or she has not made further contact with the other party. Charges may be erroneously filed when people are involved in a dispute or when one person simply wishes to avoid the other four reasons that do not include a threat of violence. For example, a person may accuse someone of stalking if he or she owes the other party money and the person to whom the debt is owed repeatedly makes non-threatening phone falls in the interest of collecting the debt. An individual who reasonably makes calls in the interest of collecting a debt is unlikely to be convicted.

Retain a federal defense attorney immediately

Anyone who has been accused of misdemeanor or aggravated charges should contact an experienced Tampa stalking defense lawyer who is experienced in handling federal cases. Convictions can have very serious implications for an individual’s personal and professional reputation. David Joffe can help. Call us today.