What Constitutes Text Message Harassment?
Although there are a number of forms of harassment, the law has a very specific definition of what harassment means to ensure that no one is wrongly convicted. Specifically, Colorado’s criminal harassment laws state that it is unlawful for a person to "knowingly" harass, annoy, taunt, insult, or otherwise alarm another person. In the next 3 sections of this article our Fort Collins criminal defense attorney will discuss areas of this criminal statute that warrant further explanation.
The statute defines the following acts as being harassment:
- Communication by any means, including electronic communication, in a manner that makes a reasonable person seriously alarmed, annoyed, or terrified and that serves no legitimate purpose (for electronic harassment, each time a person sends one electronic message is an individual offense).
- Striking, kicking, shoving, or other physical contact with another person or any object closely associated with the person.
- Directing obscene language or making obscene gestures toward another person.
- Using fighting words, defined as "communications that, when addressed to the ordinary and reasonable citizen , are likely to incite a violent or disorderly response."
- Sending, posting, transmitting, or otherwise making available knowingly false statements about a person or persons, including using an online website accessible by any person to make a statement designed to promote the parent’s hatred against, or contempt for, another person.
- Repeatedly insult, taunt, or challenge another person in a manner intended to provoke a violent or disorderly response.
Note that there are forms of text message harassment that seem to fit into the harassment statute, but that in fact fall outside of its scope. For instance, if you continuously communicated with someone knowing that he or she is not interested in dating you or having a romantic relationship, this may result in severe emotional distress on the part of that person and cause alarm, but the harassment statute specifically excludes harassment in connection with a legitimate business transaction.
The harassment must also be done for the purpose of causing alarm, like bullying: cyberbullying and stalking generally are intended to incite fear and mental and/or physical distress in the victim.
The Definition of Harassment Under Colorado Law
Colorado has employed a legislatively defined definition for the crime of "harassment" and the basis for which charges may be brought in Colorado courts. The statute reads in relevant part:
"(1) A person commits harassment if, with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person, he or she:
…
(c) Makes a communication by telephone, by means of electronic mail, or by posting on a social network site as defined in section 18-9-111 (4)(b), with the intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person.
(d)
(I) Makes a communication by registered or certified mail addressed to the home of another described in section 18-9-111 (4)(a);
(II) Places of employment of another described in section 18-9-111 (4)(b);
(III) Vehicles owned by another described in section 18-9-111 (4)(c);
(IV) An establishment to which another described in section 18-9-111 (4)(c) is employed or attends; or
(V) A cellular telephone of another described in section 18-9-111 (4)(c);
(IV) Repeatedly commits an act of harassment against another person"
-§18-9-111 Colorado Revised Statutes
The term "repeatedly" is specifically defined in Colorado law. As explained above in 18-9-111 (1) (e) the term "Repeatedly" means two or more times." To ensure that this definition is clear , the statute further states:
"A communication by: (a) Telephone, text message, electronic mail, cellular phone, or social network, all of which are defined in Section 18-9-111(4); or (b) Registered or certified mail addressed to:
(I) The home of another described in Section 18-9-111(4(a);
(II) The place of employment of another described in Section 18-9-111(4)(b);
(III) Vehicles owned by another described in Section 18-9-111(4)(c) or (IV) An establishment to which another described in section 18-9-111 (4)(c) is employed or attends; or (V) The Cellular telephone of another described in Section 18-9-111(4)(c) shall constitute conduct not covered by 18-9-111(5) if shown by a preponderance of the evidence to be made too often, or too continuously, as the case may be, to cause alarm, annoyance, and harm to the recipient. … For purposes of this subsection (7) repeated does not mean one (1) incident but shall mean two or more incidents. …." -§18-9-111 Colorado Revised Statutes
Having reviewed the applicable law and statutes, it is important to note what it means for you. The law creates several categories of prohibited actions that can give rise to charges of harassment, including, but not limited to:
The application of the statute to electronic communications and text messaging allows for harassment charges to be brought due to a single text message or electronic communications, if the single communication can be shown to meet one of the definitions above.
Text Message Harassment Penalties
Colorado has laws that penalize harassment by phone, and those apply equally to text and instant messages. Harassment by means of another electronic communication has a maximum fine of $50 for a first offense, $500 for a second or third offense, and up to six months in jail for any fourth or subsequent offense. Aside from the fine or imprisonment, there are four other types of penalties that can be ordered:
Those penalties can be imposed as well, or instead of, the fine or imprisonment terms. Although courts can effectively impose sentences longer than six months by imposing multiple terms consecutively, they cannot make a sentence longer than 18 months under this law.
Note that these penalties apply only to harassment, so they require there to be at least some element of conduct that fits the statutory definition of harassment. For example, if you send somebody an embarrassing photo, and they take that to mean that you are harassing them in order to embarrass them, that may be enough to be charged under the statute, and even though the photo was meant to be a harmless joke, the law may not care. On the other hand, if somebody simply decides that asking them out constitutes harassment, that’s a different thing, because that does not fit the text of the statute.
Filing a Complaint of Text Message Harassment
In addition to the criminal penalties outlined above, there are civil remedies available for victims. If you are the victim of text message harassment, you are able to file lawsuits against the person or people who are sending you threatening or harassing text messages. In some cases, a court may issue a restraining order against the offender. Unfortunately, few courts take text message harassment as seriously as they do other offenses, and it is harder for law enforcement teams to track down the perpetrators than you might imagine.
Below are some steps to follow:
Save the Evidence It is extremely important that you don’t delete any of the evidence, even if you’ve heard promises that the offender won’t do it again. After all, sending harassing text messages (as defined by Colorado law) is a Class 2 misdemeanor – you can’t be sure this behavior will stop on its own. Take screenshots of the text messages on your phone and email those pictures to yourself, or print them to have hard copies ready in case you feel the need to pursue legal action.
Contact the Police Even if the police don’t take your case very seriously, the offender needs to know that their actions could result in serious consequences. There is a good chance they will stop if they realize you are not going to be intimidated. At the very least, contacting the police will put it on record that harassment via text message took place, giving you more footing to pursue legal action in the future.
If the Offender Knows Where You Live If the person sending you harassing text messages knows where you live, it is crucial that you take steps to protect yourself, your children, and your pets. They may be using the text messages to bridge a gap between technology-based communication to real-life communication in real space. Even if you do not fear for your personal safety, there is an inherent violation of privacy in the situation that could result in lasting psychological harm. Sanctions may be the only way to ensure that the behavior stops.
Move On It is natural to be disturbed by the fact that someone is harassing you with text messages, mostly because most people are not accustomed to dealing with this kind of behavior. By filing a lawsuit, taking criminal action, or seeking a restraining order, you can move on with your life knowing that you did everything in your power to stop the harassment. Ideally, the offender should have the conviction on their permanent record from that moment forward, but even if they don’t they should know that the next time they send a threatening message, it’s going to cause serious repercussions.
Legal Remedies for Victims
Understanding the laws and legal resources available in Colorado to help victims of text message harassment is an essential element of protecting yourself. Harassment includes any kind of ‘unlawful’ or ‘unwelcome’ contact by phone, email, text, social media, etc. In some cases you must substantiate that the perpetrator has followed you in some manner online, or in the real world. In other cases, the court will allow you to request a Temporary Restraining Order against someone who is harassing you through a common carrier, such as a phone company. A Restraining Order is usually issued in a court of law to prohibit individuals from having any contact with you. It can also prohibit them from contacting anyone else on your behalf, or posting things on the Internet, etc. Basically, it means they cannot have contact with you in any form for a specific period of time. If they violate this order, and attempt to contact you, a court may place them in jail for a limited time or longer. To obtain a restraining order or TPO, you must go to a judge and provide them with the proof of that harassment. It may not be immediate; you may be required to wait several weeks, so this is not a quick solution . The process is a little different when children are involved. The police are required to respond to any criminal violation, including: domestic violence, phone harassment, texting misuse, etc. Due to the nature of most harassing or threatening communications, it is considered a criminal matter. The police will get involved, even if the issue is only verbal abuse. In addition to documenting the fact that something happened, they will contact the alleged perpetrator and warn them to stay away from your property, home or other things that may cause harm to you. Again, there are limits to this type of enforcement, but it is one of the first things the police will do when they respond to a 911 call involving a threat or harassment. The prosecution can pursue additional court involvement if the phone harassment persists and weighs in on other actions that can be taken, such as arresting the alleged perpetrator, issuing warrants for other charges, involving social services, etc. Generally, if the harassment is serious, or the perpetrator continues to violate the law after being warned, the police can press charges, or flatten future charges when they respond to other calls. This can include tracking devices, GPS, hidden listening devices, etc.
Technology as a Deterrent of Harassment
Many individuals plagued with text message harassment have found relief from unscrupulous text message senders through technological means. Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T all provide spam filtering tools on their websites to assist subscribers in blocking unwanted messages.
Besides blocking unwanted messages, there are other more advanced privacy tools that can protect you from receiving harassing texts. Hiya is a spam filter that identifies the sender of a text message and numbers that are void of caller IDs. A user can download the app and be protected. The app allows the user to block messages from unknown numbers and numbers that are already blocked on the user’s mobile device. The app can also be uploaded to a user’s mobile device from the website http://www.hiya.com/ The application can automatically block messages from known spammers. If the user believes a phone number is a spammer, then the user can report the number to Hiya, which will add it to their data base. Users can block all or only specific numbers from contacting them. Besides the application, Google Voice allows users to block unwanted text messages. Google Voice is a free service that allows users to make and receive phone calls, send text messages, and voicemail. Google Voice supports smart call blocking, spam filtering services, and automatic spam filtering. The service is free to use and the number is available even if you do not have a mobile number. A person can create a Google Voice number if he or she is in the United States. He or she will need an email address and an existing mobile phone number to sign up for the service. Kim Komando suggests signing up for the service to block unwanted text messages on her website. There are various options to block unwanted text messages. Many of these options are free to use and do not require internet access or the purchasing of expensive software. However, there are paid services available that can stop unwanted text messages from occurring as well. Some of these services operate by negative subscription, meaning you must "unsubscribe" to these services if you do not want them. Other services that charge a monthly fee automatically subscribe the customer to the service until the service is canceled.
Retaining Legal Counsel
In most cases, victims of text message harassment should speak to a qualified criminal defense lawyer out of concern that the alleged harasser may be prosecuted pursuant to Colorado’s laws against harassment.
If prosecutors proceed with charges, a conviction could permanently impair the alleged harasser’s reputation, future job prospects, and even future freedom if he or she is sentenced to jail time. As a result, you may feel obliged to hire a harassment and criminal defense attorney to represent you in the case.
An attorney can also help you navigate the complex civil law issues that may arise in connection with text message harassment. For example , if a trusted workplace colleague is guilty of text message harassment, he or she may try to repair the damaged relationship by offering a settlement. Unless you have serious documentation and negotiation skills, it may be wise to work with an attorney when dealing with civil text harassment cases; an attorney who specializes in civil harassment and sexual harassment cases will be able to look for settlements that a layperson might miss.