Harassment Charges

Harassment charges are usually a misdemeanor, but that classification does not negate the seriousness of a harassment charge. Harrasment charges do not punish conduct but instead punish certain types of alarming or annoying communications. Anyone charged with harassment should understand what harassment is, how harassment charges are filed, and the consequences of a harassment conviction before accepting a plea bargain.The first element of any harassment charge is proving that something was said or communicated. Before the electronic age, charges usually involved harassing conversations, either in person or over the phone. Many harassment statutes now cover any type of communication, including emails, social networking sites, and texting.The second element of a harassment charge is evidence that the communication was likely to harass, annoy, alarm, torment, or embarrass the victim. Every state provides examples of communications or conduct deemed likely to harass. These include: threats of bodily injury or death, making obscene proposals, causing a victim's phone to ring repeatedly, and sending repeated electronic communications. What is actually considered harassment depends on the objective of the sender and the likely effect on the receiver. For example, if a debt collector calls a victim on an hourly basis for the admitted purpose of harassing the victim until the account is paid, the debt collector could be charged with harassment because his specific intent is to harass or annoy the victim. Intent and effect often provide the basis for a defense against a harassment charge.



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