An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Stalking
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1873
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: EDMONDS, CUMMINGS, DIAMOND, HOBBINS, SHERMAN, STRIMLING, CASAVANT, DUNN, HILL, PLUMMER, SIMPSON
Amends: 17-A MRSA §210-A, 17-A MRSA §1252

Legislative Document 
No. 1873 
S.P.681 
April 25, 2007 
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Stalking 
Submitted by the Department of the Attorney General pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by President EDMONDS of Cumberland. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Cosponsored by Speaker CUMMINGS of Portland and Senators: DIAMOND of Cumberland, 
HOBBINS of York, McCORMICK of Kennebec, SHERMAN of Aroostook, STRIMLING of 
Cumberland, Representatives: CASAVANT of Biddeford, DUNN of Bangor, HILL of York, 
PLUMMER of Windham, SIMPSON of Auburn. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §210-A, as amended by PL 2001, c. 471, Pt. B, §9 and 
affected by §10 and c. 667, Pt. D, §§35 and 36, is further amended to read: 
§210-A. Stalking 
1. 
A person is guilty of stalking if: 
A. The actor intentionally or knowingly engages in a course of conduct directed at or 
concerning a specific person that would ffi-.faet cause beth a reasonable person aad 
that ather specific ~ersoa: 
(1) To suffer iatimidatioa or serious inconvenience, anno)'aace or alarm or 
emotional distress; 
(2) To fear bodily injury or to fear bodily injury to a member of that ~ersoa's 
immediate family close relation; er 
(3) To fear death or to fear the death of a member of that ~ersoa's immediate 
family. close relation; 
(4) To fear damage or destruction to or tampering with property; or 
(5) To fear injury to or the death of an animal owned by or in the possession and 
control of that specific person. 
Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime. The court shall i~ose a seBteaciag 
alteraatiye im'ol'liag a term of i~risonmeat of at least eO days, of which 48 hours 
may aot be s\:ls~eaded, aad may order the ~ersoa to attead aa abuser educatioa 
~regt'am a~~royed by the court; or 
C. The actor violates paragraph A and has 2 or mare ~rior 6oavictioas., at the time of 
the offense: 
(1) Violates a condition of a court order in this State or any other jurisdiction in 
effect at the time of the crime that prohibits the actor from having contact with 
the person being stalked. As used in this paragraph, "any other jurisdiction" 
includes the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation and other federally 
recognized tribes; 
(2) Has one or more prior convictions under this section or one or more prior 
convictions for engaging in substantially similar conduct to that contained in this 
section in any other jurisdiction; 
(3) Has one or more prior convictions in this State or in any other jurisdiction for 
a crime involving threats of violence or violence against the person being stalked; 
or 
(4) Has 2 or more prior convictions for any combination of offenses under the 
following: Title 5, section 4659; Title 15, section 321; former Title 19, section 
769; Title 19-A, section 4011; Title 22, section 4036; any other temporary, 
emergency, interim or final protective order issued by any other iurisdiction; or a 
court-approved consent agreement. 
Violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime. The court shall ilBflose a semencing 
alternati'.'e ift';olying a term of imprisornnem of at least 6 momhs, of which 14 days 
may not be suspended, and may order the person to attend an abuser education 
pregram approved by the court. 
For the purposes of this paragraph, "prior con,,rietion" ffieans a conyiction fer a 
yiolation of this section; Title 5, section 4659; Title 15, seetion 321; fermer Title 19, 
section 769; Title 19 A, section 4011; as;' other temporary, effiergenc~,., interim or 
final pretective order; an order of a tribal court of the Passamaquoddy Tribe or the 
Penobscot Nation; any similar order issl:1ed by any co1:H1 of the United States or of 
any other state, territory, commOlw,cealth or tribe; or a court appreved consem 
agreement. Section 9-A governs the use of prior convictions when determining a 
sentence except that, for purposes of this subsection, the prior convictions may have 
occurred at any time. 
2. 
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following 
terms have the following meanings. 
A. "Course of conduct" means repeatedly maimaining a yisual or physical proximity 
to a person or repeatedly com'eying oral or written threats, threats ilBfllied by conduct 
or a combination of threats and conduct directed at or toward a person. For purposes 
of this section, "com'eying oral or 'Nritten threats" ineludes, bl:1t is not limited to, 
communicating or causing a communication to be iHitiated by mail OF by mechanical 
or electronic means 2 or more acts, including but not limited to acts in which the 
actor, by any action, method, device or means, directly or indirectly follows, 
monitors, tracks, observes, surveils, threatens, harasses or communicates to or about a 
person or interferes with a person's property. For purposes of this section, "course 
"Course of conduct" also includes, but is not limited to, threats implied by conduct 
and gaining unauthorized access to personal, medical, financial or other identifying or 
confidential information, incll:1ding access by cOIBfll:1ter network, mail, telephone or 
>;,,critten communication. "Course of conduct" does not include activity protected by 
the Constitution of Maine, the United States Constitution or by state or federal 
statute. 
B. 
"Immediate family" "Close relation" means a current or former spouse or 
domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, stepchild, stepparent eF, grandparent, any 
person who regularly resides in the household or who within the prior 6 months 
regularly resided in the household, coworker or any person with a significant personal 
relationship to the person being stalked. 
C. "Repeatedly" means on 2 or ffiore occasions. 
D. "Emotional distress" means mental or emotional suffering of the person being 
stalked as evidenced by anxiety, fear, torment or apprehension that mayor may not 
result in a physical manifestation of emotional distress or a mental health diagnosis. 
E. "Serious inconvenience" means that a person significantly modifies that person's 
actions or routines in an attempt to avoid the actor or because of the actor's course of 
conduct. "Serious inconvenience" includes, but is not limited to, changing a phone 
number, changing an electronic mail address, moving from an established residence, 
changing daily routines, changing routes to and from work, changing employment or 
work schedule or losing time from work or a job. 
Sec.2. 17-A MRSA §1252, sub-§5-D is enacted to read: 
5-D. In using a sentencing alternative involving a term of imprisonment for a person 
convicted of a Class C or higher crime, the victim of which was at the time of the 
commission of the crime in fact being stalked by that person, a court shall assign special 
weight to this objective fact in determining the basic sentence in the first step of the 
sentencing process. The court shall assign special weight to any subjective victim impact 
caused by the stalking in determining the maximum period of incarceration in the 2nd 
step in the sentencing process. The court may not suspend that portion of the maximum 
term of imprisonment based on objective or subjective victim impact in arriving at the 
final sentence as the 3rd step in the sentencing process. 
Sec. 3. Legislative intent. The Legislature finds that stalking is a serious problem 
in Maine and nationwide. Stalking can and does lead to death, sexual assault, physical 
assault and property damage. Stalking can involve persons who have had an intimate 
relationship as well as persons who have had no past relationship. Stalking can result in 
great stress and fear in the victim and often involves severe intrusions on the victim's 
personal privacy and autonomy. Stalking can have immediate and long-lasting impact on 
the quality of life and safety of the victim and persons close to the victim. 
By enacting these amendments, the Legislature intends to better protect victims from 
being intentionally harassed, terrified, threatened or intimidated by individuals who use a 
wide variety of methods to track, threaten and harass their victims. The goal is to 
authorize effective criminal intervention before stalking behavior results in serious 
physical and emotional harm and to increase penalties for escalating stalking behavior. 
One amendment is intended to make clear that stalking is criminal whether or not the 
victim knows about the stalking conduct. 
The new provisions are drafted broadly to capture all stalking activity, including a 
stalker's use of new technologies. Presently, some stalkers use Global Positioning 
Satellite technology to monitor actions, disposable cell phones to make untraceable calls 
and keyloggers to capture private information from computers. In the future, new 
technologies not currently imagined will be used to the same ends. The Legislature 
intends that the use of such new technology be covered by this legislation. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the stalking laws by expanding the prohibited conduct and providing 
for additional aggravating factors that elevate an offense to a Class C crime. The bill 
removes specific sentencing requirements. This bill also requires judges to give special 
weight in sentencing to the fact that a Class C or higher crime was committed by a person 
while that person was stalking a victim.