Tampa Florida Aggravated Stalking Laws

Tampa Florida Stalking Laws


Tampa Florida Aggravated Stalking Laws

Aggravated stalking in Tampa Florida is engaging in a willful and malicious course of conduct that continuously harass a person with a credible threat, either expressed or implied, that places the victim in fear that they will suffer bodily harm, injury or even death. Aggravated stalking in Tampa Florida  is a serious offense. It is a third degree felony, with a sentence punishable up to fifteen years in prison.

Florida laws make a distinction between misdemeanor stalking and felony or aggravated stalking in Tampa Florida. Aggravated stalking occurs when there is an injunction or order of protection in place and the stalker repeatedly violates that order. Repeated violations in Tampa Florida mean two or more incidents of stalking against you or your immediate family within the past six months.

Aggravated stalking in Tampa Florida requires a minimum of two offenses to prove that it wasn't an isolated occurrence. Some examples of aggravated stalking in Tampa Florida is repeated episodes of threatening or harassing behavior such as phone calls, following and shadowing a person or showing up at their home or place of employment.
Aggravated stalkers in Tampa Florida comes from all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The motivations of a stalker is as complex as the human mind. Most aggravated stalkers in Tampa Florida are men who have lost their control over their victim. The victim is usually someone the stalker knows and was involved in a prior intimate relationship. The stalking in Tampa Florida began after the relationship ended, or when there was a perception in the mind of the stalker, that he was somehow mistreated.

In Tampa Florida, there is a movement to pass stricter laws to help stop aggravated stalking. Spending time in jail sometimes allows a stalker to do some serious reflection about their current situation and to make some changes to their violent and destructive behavior.

Florida Appellate court has reviewed the stalking statue and the statue was found to be constitutional. In Florida, aggravated stalking laws have come under question because , what constitutes stalking , can fall into a very vague area. In stalking cases in Tampa Florida, there is usually little physical evidence and the arrest and prosecution is based on the credibility of the victim.
It has become common practice in Tampa, Florida to overcharge simple restraining order violations with the tough Florida Aggravated Stalking Laws as a tool to ensure a criminal conviction!
Once you are looking at prison time, getting you to plead guilty to a lesser charge is childs play for the prosecutor, even if you are not really guilty!

Restraining and protective orders in Tampa Florida are issued to keep stalkers at a safe distance from their victims. Whether a protective order works is debatable. In Florida, the law allows its law enforcement officers to arrest violators of the protective order without obtaining an arrest warrant.

Police in Tampa Florida encourage victims of aggravated assault to document the abuse by their stalker. They advise victims to keep a diary or log of the stalker's activities. They caution the victim to change their phone number and their door locks. Keep the car doors locked at all times and if you are followed drive to the nearest police station in Tampa, Florida.