Under Illinois law, cyberstalking means you, knowingly and without legal justification:

* engaged in a course of conduct using electronic communication that you knew or should have known would cause a reasonable person to fear for their or another’s safety or cause emotional distress; or

  *at least twice, harassed the victim through electronic communication and threatened them or their family member with bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement or restraint or caused reasonable fear of such harm; or

*secretly placed electronic monitoring software or spyware on an electronic communication device to harass another person and threatened as above; or

*created and maintained an internet website accessible to third parties for at least 24 hours,  which harassed the victim and communicated threats.

You can still be convicted of cyberstalking if you knowingly solicited someone to do your cyberstalking for you.

Electronic communication device” means an, including wireless telephones, personal digital assistants or mobile computers.

A “course of conduct” means two or more acts, even when acting indirectly or through a third party, where you surveil, threaten or communicate to or about  a person, make contact without their consent or interfere with their property or pet.

If you are charged with cyberstalking or a similar offense, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately.  As with most crimes, the state must prove all the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.  Did you know what you were doing?  Did you have legal justification?  Maybe you acted in fear of the victim.  Was your communication threatening?  Was the victim’s fear for his or her safety reasonable?  Did the victim consent to your contact?  Was the webpage accessible to third parties? Even if the evidence is overwhelming, an attorney who is respected in the courthouse may be able to negotiate a more favorable plea agreement than you could on your own.        

If you have questions about this or another related Illinois criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

See 720 ILCS 5/12-7.5.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

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