Centre County Stalking Defense

As part of its duty to protect its residents, Pennsylvania handles stalking cases with a firm hand. A conviction could lead to numerous negative consequences, both legal and social. You could also become the subject of a civil action, like a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order.

Have you been accused of stalking in Centre County? If so, you must act quickly to salvage your career, reputation, and lifestyle. Don't hesitate to ask for help from an attorney who is as committed to your future as you are. Call the LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team today at 888-535-3686 or fill out their confidential consultation form.

Following approval from a Centre County judge, a PFA order is enforceable for up to three years. For its duration, you'll have to adhere to a strict set of rules and restrictions, including the following:

No direct or indirect contact with the plaintiff who filed the PFA.
Grant sole temporary custody of any shared children to the plaintiff while you pay spousal or child support and contribute to other necessary expenses.
Eviction from your residence, regardless of whether you're on the lease or deed, and sending monthly payments.
Comply with increased scrutiny or surveillance from employers and law enforcement officers.

As you can imagine, stipulations like these can rapidly upend your life and career. You need to minimize the financial, vocational, and personal damage as much as possible. That's what the LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team is prepared to help you do.

Stalking Laws in Pennsylvania

It's every citizen's responsibility to understand what constitutes stalking in Pennsylvania, especially if the charges catch you by surprise. State law says that a pattern of threatening and/or intrusive behavior could be regarded as stalking. These are the specific criteria:

Having the ability to intend to damage the relationships, reputation, property, and mental, emotional, or physical well-being of the victim and/or their loved ones.
Having the ability and intent to cause these types of damage to the point of seriously disrupting the victim's life or health.

Centre County courts weigh several factors into the decision of whether to indict or convict someone of stalking. These are the most significant considerations:

Intent: There is a sense of deliberateness to the actions of the accused, suggesting that they are purposely seeking to harm the victim and/or their loved ones physically, mentally, or emotionally.
Repeated Acts: Stalking is not an isolated incident. It's characterized by the frequent and unwanted presence or contact of another person. That is, even though the stalker and their victim don't work together, live near each other, or socialize with the same people, the stalker consistently turns up in the victim's proximity and/or tries to interact with them, even when told to stop.
Emotional Distress: Anyone is bound to experience acute emotional distress when dealing constantly with fear or broken boundaries due to a stalker. If a victim can prove that their emotional health has suffered, whether temporarily or permanently, the plaintiff is more likely to be labeled a stalker.
Course of Conduct: The stalker demonstrates a disruptive or dangerous “course of conduct,” or a pattern of behavior, toward their victim. That is, every interaction includes actions that scare or hurt the victim, such as intimidation, making threats, physical or verbal harassment, or assault.

First-time stalking offenses usually go on the record as misdemeanors. Felony charges are reserved for second and subsequent offenses, as well as stalking incidents that include certain additional crimes, such as:

Simple assault
Aggravated Assault
Breach of a protective order
Reckless endangerment
Kidnapping
Involuntary deviant sexual intercourse
Rape

How Centre County Grades Criminal Stalking Charges

Centre County judges grade stalking charges according to the seriousness of the incident(s) and the defendant's criminal history (or lack thereof). They usually regard first-time offenses as misdemeanors, which may lead to a maximum fine of $10,000 and/or up to five years in jail.

If the stalking was egregious or targeted at family, members of your household, or the same victim as in a previous stalking case, there's a greater likelihood that the judge will elevate the offense to a third-degree felony. Prior criminal convictions of any kind could increase that chance as well. Felony stalking is punishable with seven years of incarceration and/or fines reaching $15,000.

Stalking incidents that include additional crimes as described above can also influence a judge to write up the charges as felonies. Even “seriously disparaging” statements and opinions about the victim's child can affect the final grade, especially if they lead to “substantial emotional distress…which produces some physical manifestation.”

Some stalking incidents involve terroristic threats as well. According to Pennsylvania law, such threats are comprised of the following criteria:

Clearly intending to terrorize others.
Provoking the evacuation of a public facility, place of assembly, or building.

Perhaps any “seriously disparaging statements” or “terroristic threats” you are accused of making were truly misunderstandings, miscommunications, or things said in anger without real intent behind them. If you can't prove that, however, you may end up charged with felony stalking.

Why Do Stalking Charges Lead to PFA Orders in Centre County?

Stalking is a criminal act, but it can have civil consequences as well, like Protection From Abuse (PFA) orders. Centre County courts use PFA orders to protect victims of domestic violence, especially the following:

Anyone with a current or prior sexual relationship with the defendant.
Spouses or anyone living with the defendant as a spouse, both in the past and present.
Parents, siblings, children, and anyone else related to the defendant by blood or marriage.

Kidnapping, isolation, involuntary confinement, and physical or sexual abuse can all qualify victims to file PFA orders. The same is true if the victims have experienced threats, harassment, intimidation, and other frightening behavior that often occur alongside stalking and indicate the defendant's intent to cause harm.

Victims can file for PFA orders by visiting room 208 at the Centre County Court Administration, located at 102 South Allegheny Street, Bellefonte, PA, 16823. Every petition requires as much detail as possible, including:

The time, date, and location of the stalking incident(s).
A list of everyone associated with the incident(s).
A description of the defendant's actions, behavior, and general course of conduct.
Notes about how the defendant harmed the victim physically, emotionally, or psychologically.

Sometimes, victims are allowed to include requirements for relief and other stipulations to PFA orders. Examples include:

The defendant is evicted from the residence that they share with the victim, if applicable.
The victims get temporary full custody of the shared child(ren).
No contact between the defendant and victim or said child(ren).
No contact between the defendant and the victim's family members.
The defendant has to give up any firearms or ammunition in their possession.
The defendant must pay child and/or spousal support, legal fees, and out-of-pocket expenses related to any physical, emotional, or psychological harm that they caused to the victim.

What to Know About Temporary PFA Orders

Centre County courts tend to grant temporary PFA orders to victims after they file. The courts wait a maximum of ten business days to hold a formal hearing of the stalking charges, after which they decide whether to make the PFA order permanent.

Furthermore, victims can file PFA orders without notifying their abusers or ensuring they're present to offer their side of the story. The only time and place where defendants can advocate for themselves is a formal hearing.

Magisterial judges in Centre County may also approve emergency PFA orders in urgent circumstances. They're most commonly applied in the following situations:

The victim and/or their loved ones are at risk of immediate harm, fitting the definition of a “true emergency.”
The victim needs the PFA order on a weekend, federal holiday, or after operating hours, so the Court of Common Pleas is unavailable to consider the petition right away.

Emergency orders are only valid until the close of the next business day, but the Centre County courts usually replace them with temporary orders before then. After that, they'll wait for the formal hearing to choose the next steps.

Protection From Abuse Hearings in Centre County

If you're the defendant in a stalking case, the formal hearing is where you'll get to present your arguments, evidence, experiences, and points of view to a judge from the Centre Court of Common Pleas. However, your accuser will be able to do the same.

Consider everything that's at stake for you. For instance, a finalized PFA order—which is typically valid for up to three years—would place restrictions and requirements that would burden you. Also, the courts would notify your employer, local law enforcement, and children's schools about the order, which could be stressful, embarrassing, and damaging to your opportunities. As if that's not enough, the statements, testimonies, and evidence from the hearing can turn the tides against you in criminal and child custody proceedings, too.

You must give yourself the best chance possible at pushing against the stalking charges and PFA order by hiring a knowledgeable and dedicated legal team to support you. That's where the LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team comes in. They'll fight to minimize the charges and get the PFA order dismissed so that you can carry on with your life more productively.

Provisions and Impact of a PFA

A PFA order carries serious legal consequences that provide reason enough to combat the charges. However, there are even more ways that a stalking conviction can complicate your life, such as:

Loss of Civil Rights: The Constitution provides for the right to bear arms, but you can lose that right with a stalking conviction. You'd have to surrender your ammunition and weapons.
Decreased Housing Opportunities: Background checks are a normal part of the process of approving someone for housing. A landlord who sees a stalking conviction and/or eviction on your record may consider you too risky to house. You could end up homeless or stuck with a subpar residence.
Stunted Vocational Growth: Many employers and professional licensing agencies run background checks on prospective job candidates and licensees, too. You'll have a much harder time convincing them that you're qualified and trustworthy if a stalking conviction and PFA orders appear on your record, which means you may struggle to advance in your career.
Negative Reputation: Since PFA orders and criminal records are public information, you could experience maintaining your personal and professional relationships or creating new ones. Your newly questionable reputation would likely cause people to hesitate to connect or associate with you.
Increased Scrutiny: After being convicted of stalking or having a PFA order finalized against you, even minor crimes and infractions can result in more severe punishments than you may expect. Law enforcement officers and courts may impose high fees, fines, and other harsh disciplinary measures.

The Potential Consequences of PFA Order Violations

Although PFA orders are civil matters, they are legitimized by stalking and similar criminal acts, so violations of such orders are treated criminally as well. Law enforcement can arrest you without a warrant if they think you've breached any part of the order, and a judge could find you guilty of indirect criminal contempt of court. As a second-degree misdemeanor, this charge could lead to the following penalties:

Incarceration for up to six months per count of contempt.
A maximum fine of $1,000 per violation.
Rearrangement of child custody and visitation schedules, limiting time with your child(ren).

The judge might be more lenient and assign you probation, domestic violence counseling, an anger management course, or alternative rehabilitative resources instead of these penalties.

However, PFA violations that involve illegal acts like stalking, intimidation, harassment, threats, property damage, or assault can result in additional criminal charges. The court would almost certainly record the new stalking charge as a felony and discipline you accordingly.

Are PFAs Eligible for Modification?

Even after a PFA is finalized, you and your accuser can work together to modify it, if you so choose. Possibilities include shortening its duration or amending the stipulations. As long as you both agree, and a Centre County court judge officially approves the modifications, you won't be charged with a criminal violation by not complying with the original document.

A victim can also modify a PFA order against your favor. If a court judge allows it, the victim can extend the order's expiration date, particularly if they offer sufficient proof that you have stalked, harassed, bullied, abused, threatened, or intimidated them since the order was originally issued. If you appeal it within 30 days, the Pennsylvania Superior Court will take the case and decide whether to approve the changes.

Your Resource for Centre County Stalking Charges and Protection From Abuse Orders

Since victims and accusers can petition for PFA orders and file stalking charges without consulting those they accuse, many defendants are caught by surprise. They could find their lives in chaos and uncertainty before even having a chance to process what has happened. If this is what you're experiencing, it's imperative to find the right legal assistance to get your life back on track.

That's why contacting the LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team should be at the top of your to-do list after learning about the accusations against you. Drawing upon their vast experience protecting Centre County residents, they offer the following benefits:

Compliance Advice: One of the most important ways to defend yourself in a stalking case and PFA order hearing is to understand and comply with what's required of you. The LLF Law Firm can help you understand what a PFA order in Centre County means for you and how you present yourself in the best possible light by following it.
Reliable Defense Strategies: Having handled these and similar cases throughout the country, the LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team can combine their deep comprehension of national and local laws with the uniqueness of your situation to create an effective, customized defense strategy on which you can depend.
PFA Modifications, Dismissals, and Disputes: The LLF Law Firm has a history of success specifically with disputing PFA orders and convincing Centre County court judges to approve modifications or dismissals. They've earned your trust through years of experience in this very area.

Advocating for yourself against a stalking charge or PFA order is no easy feat, but it's essential for securing a chance at the happiness or redemption you deserve. As soon as you receive notification of the accusations against you, invest in your future by hiring a legal team that's as passionate about your worth as you are. Get started today by calling the LLF Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or filling out a confidential consultation form.

Stalking Charges and Protection From Abuse Orders in Centre County