Harassment, Stalking, Misconduct Stalking and/or Aggravated Harassment

[Elruin]

Greetings! This is my first post here.

My fiance and I have been continuously harrassed by an individual who has gone to great lengths to remain unknown to us. My fiance has received between 3 and 10 "Restricted ID" calls on her cellular phone nearly everynight for the past 8 months. In addition to that, over the past 5 months we have both recieved messages through AOL Instant Messenger of rude and vile nature directed at my fiance from a variety of similar Screen Names.

The evidence points to someone who knows her and her family quite well, possibly a not-so-close acquaintance, or an ex-boyfriend. My instincts refer me to the latter. I have done a little research and have come accross the NY penal code (that's where my fiance lives) which discloses that the above actions can be classified as Stalking in the 4th Degree, a Class B Misdemeanor, and Aggravated Harassment in the 2nd Degree, which is a Class A, based on § 120.45.2 and § 240.30.1-2 respectively. This can be found at the following web site:

http://www.ncvc.org/src/main.aspx?dbID=DB_NewYork214#stalking

I have found out from local law enforcement that cellular phone calls cannot be traced easily, nor can the messages as the offender rarely reuses the same screen name more than once.

I come to this forum asking for advice on how to tackle this problem, as it has been getting worse over the past 10 months. What should my first step be? Who should I contact and how should I put the wheels of justice into motion?

Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to your responses! (I'm looking at you Thelawprofessor and NYClex)

-Elruin

 

[NYClex]

Hm, legally you are right, since this causes your girlfriend a lot of concern and anxiety, this probably is stalking in the 4th degree.

Practically it is true that the police are not really eager to do something about this. But it is not true that those calls cannot be traced. One would probably have to get a court order to force the cellphone company to do it.

But, first things first. Try to contact the phone company and tell them about the problem. Find out if they have any procedure available to block those calls from getting through. That would alleviate the problem. You might want to file a police complaint, though at this stage it won't do much good, since no suspect is in sight. You even might consider asking the company to change the phone number.

Also try this approach: You probably have the possibility to have all incoming calls listed on your cellphone bill. Ask the company if the number of the caller will be listed, if you accept the call, even when he has "restricted the display", or if you can demand that it will be listed. If yes, accept the calls without saying anything, just accept them and then hang up. Your phone bill would be wonderful evidence of the harassment. (Of course, if the caller uses payphones you won't get anywhere).

The AOL problem is much more difficult to solve. AOL IM is a free program to which any of the million users on the web can sign up. It would be much harder, though surely not impossible, to trace someone there. But it is unlikely that you can accomplish that. Here my advice is to change your screenname.

 

[Elruin]

Thanks

NYClex,

Your advice is as sound as it is wise. Thank you for your time and insight. I will keep you updated regarding the process of our attempts for peace.

-Elruin