Tag Archives: HARASSMENT

What constitutes a charge of harassment in a custody case?

Q: I am in a high conflict custody case where the father is constantly in contempt for support and continuously tries to force his way back into our lives. He has several debts with me, most recently for an accident he had while driving one of my cars. I’m just trying to get him to acknowledge his debt or negotiate a way he will pay for the repairs. In doing so, he continuously tells me I am harassing him via email. And I constantly get emails from him that he is going to engage the ADA so we can talk about my problems which is comical at best. I continue to go out on a limb to support his relationship with his daughter – thanks to the courts forcing him on us in the first place after he was absent for 2 years. I shouldn’t have to babysit his time with her so giving him a car is seemingly my best option. I have recently filed for relocation with the court and will hopefully be able to put more distance between us and ultimately accountability on him where it belongs, but these threats of harassment are simply ridiculous. Any advice on how I can get in front of it by sending him a certified letter or anything? (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: Keep the communications between the lawyers. If there are no lawyers, do what makes sense. Harassment requires communication for no legitimate purpose. If your emails are purely for legitimate reasons you should not have a problem. Keep all your emails. If you need to send an important document, send it both certified mail, return receipt, and regular mail. Keep all copies of correspondence. If what constitutes harassment continues, talk to the police or an Assistant District Attorney. It sounds like you need an attorney to help you.

This guy called me 40 times with voicemails saying he was waiting for me.

Q: I am seeing this lady and her soon to be ex-husband thought I was with her in a hotel. So, he called me 40 times in a few hours and left voicemails saying he was waiting for me and was going to cut my head off. I also have him on camera letting the air out of my tires. (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: You need to avoid him at all costs and call the police. We live in a violent society, so you need to protect yourself and I don’t mean buy a gun and confront him. Make a record of it and the police will advise you as to whether you have enough evidence to file harassment charges

Will I get arrested for lying about drugs on Facebook messenger?

Q: I was trying to convince someone I was messed up so they would leave me alone so I said I was having sex for heroin. After I blocked the man (from Florida) on Facebook he drove to Green Tree (Pittsburgh) and messaged me after I told him I wanted no further contact and said he was going to the DA’s office to report prostitution. I was wondering if I could be arrested for that even though I have no drugs in my system. I was trying to get him to think I was too sick to be involved with him because he wanted me to move with him to Florida when I barely know him. He knows a lot about the legal system though which scares me. (Greentree, PA)

A:  If he is someone that trolls for sex on the internet and is desperate enough to drive to Pittsburgh from Florida for it, it is doubtful he will speak to law enforcement regarding his interactions with you. His threat of reporting you is just more manipulation that he hopes you will fall for. He probably knows the criminal justice system because he has been through it. His actions also sound closer to extortion and harassment.

Do I need an attorney for a summary offense?

Q: My 13-year-old daughter was charged with a summary offense of Harassment of a former friend. She received a citation with a $250 fine. Do I need to contest these charges and retain a lawyer or should I just pay the fine? Also, will she have a criminal record and can this be expunged? Thanks. (Mt Lebanon)

A: I find it odd that she is 13 years old and cited. Do not check “guilty” and send your money in for the fine. Check “not guilty” and request a hearing. If it requires money to be sent, send it. With no criminal history, this is the type of case that can be worked out without a conviction and a fine. This will be much easier if you have an attorney who is familiar with the court system guide you to this result.

JUVENILE LAW, CITATION, HARASSMENT

What constitutes harassment in a high conflict Child Custody case?

Q: I am in a high conflict custody case where the father is constantly in contempt for support and continuously tries to force his way back into our lives. He has several debts with me, most recently for an accident he had while driving one of my cars. I’m just trying to get him to acknowledge his debt or negotiate a way he will pay for the repairs. In doing so, he continuously tells me I am harassing him via email. And I constantly get emails from him that he is going to engage the ADA so we can talk about my problems which is comical at best. I continue to go out on a limb to support his relationship with his daughter – thanks to the courts forcing him on us in the first place after he was absent for 2 years. I shouldn’t have to babysit his time with her so giving him a car is seemingly my best option. I have recently filed for relocation with the court and will hopefully be able to put more distance between us and ultimately accountability on him where it belongs, but these threats of harassment are simply ridiculous. Any advice on how I can get in front of it by sending him a certified letter or anything? (Pitcairn, PA)

A: Keep the communications between the lawyers. If there are no lawyers, do what makes sense. Harassment requires communication for no legitimate purpose. If your emails are purely for legitimate reasons you should not have a problem. Save all your emails. If you need to send an important document, send it both certified mail, return receipt, and regular mail. Keep all copies of correspondence.

Is it legal for person to distribute an expunged criminal record to third parties?

Q: I’ve been raising my eight-year-old old niece since she was three. On April 15, 2015, I was charged with retail theft and had the record expunged in November of 2016. My niece’s paternal grandmonster was granted visitation rights in June of 2016. Prior to filing the grandmother posted on FB that “I’m a malicious little b**ch” for having FB remove pictures. In a comment to the post she states, “better than going to jail for hitting the b**ch over the head with a bat.” At the first custody hearing she was told to remove all pics by hearing officer, but the day prior to the March 16th hearing she made another profile picture and we showed the master. When leaving the hearing she called me a “f’ n “C” and to watch my back.” Also in March 16th, she called the soccer organization I coach for and told them of my charges. On June 16th, she made a fake FB profile of me. On September 16th, she told me she was going to beat my ass at a child’s birthday party. On December 16th, she called my salon and spoke bad of me and messaged the soccer coach under a fake name. On Jan 17th, she messaged the soccer organization of a copy of my charges she had from June 16th. They were expunged and told my niece she is going to live with them and not see me again. On February 17th, she messaged the soccer organization again. On Mar 16th, I was told about messages from the child. (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: This is an unfortunate situation and this behavior is why I significantly reduced my family law practice. As far as someone distributing an expunged record, I do not know how someone can distribute an expunged record if the record has been expunged. If the record is expunged the state police criminal history should show nothing. If what you are saying is that she forwarded copies of your charges to another person, I do not believe you have a lawsuit as normally arrest records are court documents and therefore public information, for all to see. If what you mean is that somehow the expungement petition and related paperwork from the lawyer handling it, were sent to a third party, this is probably not a good law suit either. This happened to one of my clients who stupidly kept his sexual assault expungement papers he received from me in the visor of his truck and his new girlfriend found them. By the way, there are a lot of number 15, 16 and 17’s in your question.

I know I was a stupid jagoff!

 

Q: What are the laws on harassment without intent?   Would it be possible to come out with no jail time and a fine?  I was recently issued a summons for harassment without intent. It was only texting. All I was trying to do was work things out with her. I did not threaten or call this person out of her name at all. Yet, the messages I received from her were slanderous. So I need to know what the laws on harassment without intent are. What are the punishments? So far I’ve had 2 PFA`s put on me in the span of 6 years from the same person both of which were dropped and vacated. So I don`t believe I have a prior record.  I`m hoping to get at least get a fine and counseling to avoid any possible jail time. We both repeatedly told each other to stop texting. But, we are both bullheaded and I believe we both were wrong. (West Mifflin, PA)

A: I never heard of harassment “without intent”. Intent is a key element of most crimes. Harassment can be charged as a misdemeanor or summary. If you are charged with a summary harassment, you will have a better chance of paying a fine and being ordered to complete counseling. You should consult with a lawyer immediately and have representation at the hearing. Protection from Abuse actions, even if an order was issued against you, do not count toward a prior record.

Is this considered stalking?

Q: I worked at a company last year and had a brief flirting exchange (flirting only – we did not have sex) with one of the company’s salesmen. He resided in California but came to our headquarters in the mid-west only every couple of months. He told me he was divorced. I came to find out that he was not divorced and that his wife had seen some of our flirting texts on his phone. I then called it off. Over the last nine months, his wife has called my friends, family, and co-workers (sometimes in the middle of the night) telling them that I am a whore and home wrecker. I left the company and am now unemployed, but will be starting a new job soon. My fear is that once she finds out about my new job at a new company, she will begin harassing my new employer in an attempt to get me fired. She is very careful, however, to only use restricted phone numbers or throw away cell phone numbers when making these calls. Is what she is doing illegal? What can I do to protect myself here?

A: Her conduct may be harassment or stalking and subject her to criminal prosecution. You could consult with the local police or the DA. Keep all of the calls and records from the past as well as a journal of all of her unsolicited contact. The DA or police may advise you on how to activate a service with your phone company to trace calls. If that is not possible, the DA, or even your own attorney, through subpoena or court order, can obtain the phone records. Having the phone records will likely be essential to your case if charges are filed as most of the communications seems to be via telecommunications. The last time I was involved with this issue, I was defending someone in criminal court. The alleged victim’s phone calls to my client were essential to our defense. The cell phone company would not honor a subpoena from PA and I had to obtain a court order from the judge. The records were produced by the cell phone company.

EX HAD MY CAR TOWED, WHAT CAN I DO?

Q: My car was towed from my place of employment by someone for no reason. Police will not help me. I believe it is my ex-boyfriend but have no proof. My car was parked in a secured employee parking lot and the people at the place where I work. He let them tow my car without paperwork. He works there too. They laughed at me and told me I was stupid. I went to police and they told me that the car is not stolen as he was cosigner on the car. I need help here, everything I own was in that car including my military paperwork from the national guard. I am a single mom and all of my 2 year old son’s belongings were in the car too including his car seat. We had just moved everything from my mother’s house and I had not unpacked the car yet. I thought it would be safe as the parking lot has a security guard and is for employees only.

A: As boy friend and girl friend with mutual ownership of a car, you have no protection of the Divorce Code as you are not married. Obviously a criminal case is weakened by the fact that you both of you own the car. You can talk the police to see if they will file criminal charges like harassment. If not, you can go to the local District Justice on a day when the Assistant DA is there and see if they will accept a private criminal complaint. You can also ask the police if they will file a Protection from Abuse Petition for you. If not, you can go to the Family Division and see if you can file one on your own. You have a problem in that you don’t have good proof that it was him. You need to start building proof for going forward. Keep records and a log of these events to build your case in the future if charges or a PFA cannot be filed this time.

EX HAD MY CAR TOWED, WHAT CAN I DO?

Q: My car was towed from my place of employment by someone for no reason. Police will not help me. I believe it is my ex-boyfriend but have no proof. My car was parked in a secured employee parking lot and the people at the place where I work. He let them tow my car without paperwork. He works there too. They laughed at me and told me I was stupid. I went to police and they told me that the car is not stolen as he was cosigner on the car. I need help here, everything I own was in that car including my military paperwork from the national guard. I am a single mom and all of my 2 year old son’s belongings were in the car too including his car seat. We had just moved everything from my mother’s house and I had not unpacked the car yet. I thought it would be safe as the parking lot has a security guard and is for employees only.

A: As boy friend and girl friend with mutual ownership of a car, you have no protection of the Divorce Code as you are not married. You can talk the police to see if they will file criminal charges like harassment. If not, you can go to the local District Justice on a day when the Assistant DA is there and see if they will accept a private criminal complaint. You can also ask the police if they will file a Protection from Abuse Petition for you. If not, you can go to the Family Division and see if you can file one on your own. You have a problem in that you have not proof it was him. Some proof would help. Keep records and a log of these events to build your case in the future if charges or a PFA cannot be filed this time.