An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Stalking
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §210-A, as amended by PL 2001, c. 471, Pt. B, §9 and affected by §10 and c. 667, Pt. D, §§35 and 36, is further amended to read:
§ 210-A. Stalking
(1) To suffer intimidation or serious inconvenience , annoyance or alarm or emotional distress;
(2) To fear bodily injury or to fear bodily injury to a member of that person's immediate family close relation; or
(3) To fear death or to fear the death of a member of that person's immediate family. close relation;
(4) To fear damage or destruction to or tampering with property; or
(5) To fear injury to or the death of an animal owned by or in the possession and control of that specific person.
Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime . The court shall impose a sentencing alternative involving a term of imprisonment of at least 60 days, of which 48 hours may not be suspended, and may order the person to attend an abuser education program approved by the court; or
(1) Violates a condition of a court order in this State or any other jurisdiction in effect at the time of the crime that prohibits the actor from having contact with the person being stalked. As used in this paragraph, "any other jurisdiction" includes the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation and other federally recognized tribes;
(2) Has one or more prior convictions under this section or one or more prior convictions for engaging in substantially similar conduct to that contained in this section in any other jurisdiction;
(3) Has one or more prior convictions in this State or in any other jurisdiction for a crime involving threats of violence or violence against the person being stalked; or
(4) Has 2 or more prior convictions for any combination of offenses under the following: Title 5, section 4659; Title 15, section 321; former Title 19, section 769; Title 19-A, section 4011; Title 22, section 4036; any other temporary, emergency, interim or final protective order issued by any other jurisdiction; or a court-approved consent agreement.
Violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime. The court shall impose a sentencing alternative involving a term of imprisonment of at least 6 months, of which 14 days may not be suspended, and may order the person to attend an abuser education program approved by the court.
For the purposes of this paragraph, "prior conviction" means a conviction for a violation of this section; Title 5, section 4659; Title 15, section 321; former Title 19, section 769; Title 19-A, section 4011; any other temporary, emergency, interim or final protective order; an order of a tribal court of the Passamaquoddy Tribe or the Penobscot Nation; any similar order issued by any court of the United States or of any other state, territory, commonwealth or tribe; or a court-approved consent agreement. Section 9-A governs the use of prior convictions when determining a sentence except that, for purposes of this subsection, the prior convictions may have occurred at any time.
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1252, sub-§5-D is enacted to read:
Sec. 3. Legislative intent. The Legislature finds that stalking is a serious problem in Maine and nationwide. Stalking can and does lead to death, sexual assault, physical assault and property damage. Stalking can involve persons who have had an intimate relationship as well as persons who have had no past relationship. Stalking can result in great stress and fear in the victim and often involves severe intrusions on the victim's personal privacy and autonomy. Stalking can have immediate and long-lasting impact on the quality of life and safety of the victim and persons close to the victim.
By enacting these amendments, the Legislature intends to better protect victims from being intentionally harassed, terrified, threatened or intimidated by individuals who use a wide variety of methods to track, threaten and harass their victims. The goal is to authorize effective criminal intervention before stalking behavior results in serious physical and emotional harm and to increase penalties for escalating stalking behavior. One amendment is intended to make clear that stalking is criminal whether or not the victim knows about the stalking conduct.
The new provisions are drafted broadly to capture all stalking activity, including a stalker's use of new technologies. Presently, some stalkers use Global Positioning Satellite technology to monitor actions, disposable cell phones to make untraceable calls and keyloggers to capture private information from computers. In the future, new technologies not currently imagined will be used to the same ends. The Legislature intends that the use of such new technology be covered by this legislation.
summary
This bill amends the stalking laws by expanding the prohibited conduct and providing for additional aggravating factors that elevate an offense to a Class C crime. The bill removes specific sentencing requirements. This bill also requires judges to give special weight in sentencing to the fact that a Class C or higher crime was committed by a person while that person was stalking a victim.