I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3747
To amend title 18, United States Code, to expand the prohibition on stalking,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 29, 1998
Mrs. KELLY (for herself, Mr. ROYCE, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr.
CUNNINGHAM, Mr. LARGENT, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. HAN-
SEN, Mr. ROGERS, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. FORBES, Mr.
DREIER, Mr. GANSKE, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. FRANKS of
New Jersey, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. FRELING-
HUYSEN, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr.
BURTON of Indiana, Mr. EWING, Mr. WELLER, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr.
HOUGHTON, Mr. REGULA, Mrs. FOWLER, Mr. HORN, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr.
GILLMOR, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. BOEHNER, and Mr. LAZIO
of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to expand the
prohibition on stalking, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stalking Prevention
and Victim Protection of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF THE PROHIBITION ON STALKING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2261A of title 18, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 2261A. Stalking
‘‘(a) Whoever stalks an individual, in or affecting
interstate or foreign commerce, within the special mari-
time and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or
within Indian country, shall be punished as provided in
section 2261.
‘‘(b) For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) a person stalks an individual if the person,
on 2 or more occasions—
‘‘(A) engages in any conduct that results
in the individual’s reasonable fear of—
‘‘(i) death or bodily injury to that in-
dividual; or
‘‘(ii) the death of, or bodily injury to,
a member of that individual’s immediate
family; and
‘‘(B) knows or has reasonable cause to be-
lieve that such conduct results in that fear; and
‘‘(2) the term ‘immediate family’ means, with
respect to an individual, a spouse, parent, child or
sibling of the individual, or any other person who
regularly resides, or in the most recent 6 months
regularly resided, in the household of the individual.
‘‘(c) The court shall at the time of sentencing for an
offense under this section issue an appropriate protection
order designed to protect the victim from further stalking
by the convicted person. That order shall continue in effect
until the victim communicates to the court that the order
is no longer needed.’’.
(b) NO BAIL IF PRIOR CRIME OF VIOLENCE.—Sec-
tion 3142(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In a case in which
a violation of section 2261A is charged and the person
has a prior conviction for a crime of violence under Fed-
eral or State law, the judicial officer shall not hold a hear-
ing under subsection (f), and shall order the detention of
the person before trial, if that conviction was for an of-
fense against the same victim as in the current charge,
or a member of that victim’s family, or if that conviction
became final less than 5 years before the conduct con-
stituting the alleged violation of section 2261A took place.
In computing the 5-year period for the purposes of the
application of the preceding sentence, no time shall be in-
cluded that the convicted person spent in prison pursuant
to that conviction.’’.
(c) AMENDMENT
TO SENTENCING GUIDELINES.—
Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 28,
United States Code, the United States Sentencing Com-
mission shall amend the Sentencing Guidelines to provide
an appropriate sentence enhancement for a defendant con-
victed under section 2261A of title 18, United States
Code, in a case in which the defendant has a prior convic-
tion under Federal or State law of a crime of violence (as
defined in section 16 of such title 18) against the same
victim as in the current offense or against a member of
that victim’s family.
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
at the beginning of chapter 110A of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section
2261A and inserting the following:
‘‘2261A. Stalking.’’
Æ