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.