Michigan Criminal Attorneys Blog
Cyberstalking in Michigan is viewed as a serious offense. The law that applies to cyberstalking, MCL 750.411s(1) provides that a person shall not post a message through a communication medium such as the internet, computer, or other electronic medium with the complainant’s consent if all of the following apply to the situation: (a) the person knows or has reason to know that posting the message could cause 2 or more separate noncontinuous acts of un-consented contact with the complainant; (b) the intent behind point the message is to cause conduct to make the complainant feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested; (c) this conduct of posting the message would make a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress; (d) AND conduct from posting the message actually causes the complainant emotional distressed and to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened harassed, or molested.
If you communicate with someone else through the internet, a computer, a computer program, network, or system for the purpose of committing, attempting to commit, soliciting someone else to commit stalking or aggravated stalking, this is also a crime in Michigan pursuant to MCL 750;145d(1)(b).
There are a few exceptions to cyberstalking under the law such as Constitutionally protected speech or activity, and to the internet company or computer service provider who acts in good faith and is unaware of the specific nature of what was posted. There are other defenses that can be pursued by an experienced criminal lawyer, such as Attorney Daniel Hilf.