Since face-to-face communication has largely been replaced by text messaging, posts, emails, and tweets that don’t require you to ever hear the other party’s voice, let alone see his reactions, many people have let down their barriers and have started to speak more freely—a little too freely perhaps. When you are hiding behind your computer screen, letting your fingers do the talking, you tend to become a little more brazen because you feel protected. For a percentage of people, this “safety” leads them to believe that they can say anything to anyone without consequence. And sometimes this bravery turns into taunting and harassing.
Take for instance the tragic story of Megan Meier, a 13-year old girl from Missouri who took her own life as the result of cyber bullying. While it was initially suspected that her classmates were at the root of the abuse, it actually turned out to be the mother of one of Meier’s classmates who had been sending the young girl hurtful messages via MySpace. While the accused mother, Lori Drew, was originally indicted in 2008, she was later acquitted in 2009.
While bullying has been around for ages, the Internet and constant communication between people often times makes such angry messages relentless because they don’t stop once the victim gets home. And it’s not only children who are involved; harassment spread via emails and online threads has spiked among adults as well.
As a criminal lawyer in Schaumburg, Illinois, Arnel Delosreyes says that he has seen a slight increase in the number of computer-related crimes that deal with harassment. Electronic harassment, he says, includes a wide array of outlets commonly used on a day-to-day basis, and is technically a misdemeanor crime.
In these types of cases, he says, all of the facts needed are pretty much there because when you send a threatening or harassing email, the receiver can easily save the text, print it out, and bring it to the police. This is considered a valid threat. The police will then get a warrant for the offender’s arrest and will try to get that individual to admit what he has done. If everything falls into place, says Delosreyes, then the case probably won’t go to trial and it will become a matter of negotiations to get the charges lessened.
If a negotiation cannot be reached and the matter is taken to trial, it then becomes the responsibility of the prosecutor to prove that the threatening email was sent by the offender and that it hadn’t been tampered with. There may also be other facts that are taken into consideration, including other altercations between the parties and the offender’s criminal history.
If you are then found guilty of electronic harassment, and this is your first conviction, then Delosreyes says that the conviction will appear on your permanent record, and you will probably be ordered to pay a fine and complete community service. If this is not your first conviction or you have a prior history of violence, then you may face jail time. For instance, he says, if you were previously arrested for battery and then you sent a harassing email, the judge may sentence you to a week in prison to teach you a lesson.
Even though you may feel immune to repercussion behind your keyboard, much of your confidence will probably quickly dissolve when faced with a police officer or judge. So the next time you’re typing away in anger, think twice before sending that message.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.