At Chamlin, Uliano, and Walsh, our criminal defense attorneys have decades of experience handling cyber harassment and cyberstalking charges in New Jersey courts. With our extensive knowledge of the law and defense approaches, we can determine the best way to challenge your case depending on your situation, your intent, and the facts surrounding the allegations. It can be extremely difficult to prove certain aspects of these charges, and our team is prepared to masterfully highlight reasonable doubt when defending you in court. Whether your cyber stalking or cyber harassment charges arose in Toms River, Point Pleasant, Jackson, Wall Township, Long Branch, Lavallette, or elsewhere in Monmouth County and Southern New Jersey, contact our local West Long Branch law firm for guidance. You can send us a message online or call (732) 440-3950 to speak with an attorney.
New Jersey law defines cyber harassment and cyberstalking as making an online communication with the purpose of harassing another person. This can be done in three primary ways:
The statute delves deeper into what behavior can actually be construed as cyber-stalking or cyber-harassment. It can happen in a social media post, an online message through an instant messaging platform, or something similar. It can happen privately (between the perpetrator and the victim directly) or it can happen more publicly. The communication can be threatening. The communication can also include any “lewd, indecent, or obscene material”. For example, sending or posting nude photographs or videos of the victim can be considered obscene, indecent, or lewd.
A person can be charged with this offense by doing anything online (posting, commenting, sending messages, etc.) that communicates threatening, or obscene material or language that places the receiver of that message in fear for their emotional safety or physical well-being. For example, communicating with someone through a fake account on a social media platform or via email is a behavior aligned with cyber stalking or harassment.
This could be incessant messaging, or sending unwanted pictures, or even spreading rumors online about someone. Most commonly, the behaviors associated with cyber stalking or cyber harassment parallel very closely the behaviors associated with cyber bullying. It would be wise to avoid any of these behaviors because they come with hefty penalties.
If the perpetrator is older than 21, but pretends to be a minor in order to cyber stalk or harass another minor, that is a different level of offense. It is a third degree indictable offense, and therefore it carries more severe penalties. If you are convicted of a third degree crime, you face up to $15,000 in fines and 5 years in State prison.
If the perpetrator is under the age of 16, the court could order that they attend educational seminars that are intended to reduce the behavior that got them in trouble, as well as inform them of the dangers that come along with cyber harassment. They would also be convicted of a disorderly persons offense if they neglect to complete this requirement.
If charged with cyber stalking or cyber harassment, it is extremely important to hire a criminal defense attorney who has experience defending against these cases, such as ours at Chamlin, Uliano, and Walsh, because we know which defenses work and which do not. The statute requires the State to prove certain things that are very difficult to prove, such as purposeful conduct, and whether or not the communication could reasonably be considered a threat. Our criminal defense lawyers can identify the weak parts of the State’s arguments and show that you either did not intend to harass or stalk (as it is defined in the statutes) or that you did not knowingly communicate in an illegal way. We can also defend you in court by showing that a reasonable person would not perceive what you did as a threat. The defense of your case will depend on the specific circumstances surrounding the matter.