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LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a |
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| knowingly and without
lawful justification, on at least 2 |
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| separate occasions, harasses another person
through the use of |
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| electronic communication and: |
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| (1) at any time transmits a threat of immediate or |
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| future bodily harm,
sexual assault, confinement, or |
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| restraint and the threat is directed towards
that person or |
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| a family member of that person; or |
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| (2) places that person or a family member of that |
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| person in reasonable
apprehension of immediate or future |
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| bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement,
or restraint; or |
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| (3) at any time knowingly solicits the commission of an |
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| act by any person which would be a violation of this Code |
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| directed towards that person or a family member of that |
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| person. |
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| (a-5) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she, |
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| knowingly and without lawful justification, creates and |
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| maintains an Internet website or webpage which is accessible to |
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| one or more third parties for a period of at least 24 hours, |
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| and which contains statements harassing another person and: |
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| (1) which communicates a threat of immediate or future |
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| bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint, |
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| where the threat is directed towards that person or a |
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| family member of that person, or |
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| (2) which places that person or a family member of that |
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| person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future |
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| bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint, or |
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09600SB3359ham001 |
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LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a |
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| (3) which knowingly solicits the commission of an act |
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| by any person which would be a violation of this Code |
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| directed towards that person or a family member of that |
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| person. |
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| (b) Sentence. Cyberstalking is a Class 4 felony. A second |
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| or subsequent
conviction for cyberstalking is a Class 3 felony. |
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| (c) For purposes of this Section: |
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| (1) "Course of conduct" means 2 or more acts, including |
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| but not limited to acts in which a defendant directly, |
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| indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, |
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| method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes, |
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| surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about, a person, |
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| engages in other non-consensual contact, or interferes |
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| with or damages a person's property or pet. The |
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| incarceration in a penal institution of a person who |
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| commits the course of conduct is not a bar to prosecution |
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| under this Section. |
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| (2) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of |
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| signs, signals, writings, sounds, data, or intelligence of |
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| any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, |
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| radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical |
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| system. "Electronic communication" includes transmissions |
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| through an electronic device including, but not limited to, |
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| a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager, which |
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| communication includes, but is not limited to, e-mail, |
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| instant message, text message, or voice mail by a computer |
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09600SB3359ham001 |
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LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a |
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| through the Internet to another computer. |
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| (3) "Emotional distress" means significant mental |
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| suffering, anxiety or alarm. |
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| (4) "Harass"
means to engage in a knowing and willful |
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| course of conduct directed at a
specific person
that |
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| alarms, torments, or terrorizes that person. |
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| (5) "Non-consensual contact" means any contact with |
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| the victim that is initiated or continued without the |
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| victim's consent, including but not limited to being in the |
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| physical presence of the victim; appearing within the sight |
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| of the victim; approaching or confronting the victim in a |
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| public place or on private property; appearing at the |
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| workplace or residence of the victim; entering onto or |
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| remaining on property owned, leased, or occupied by the |
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| victim; or placing an object on, or delivering an object |
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| to, property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim. |
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| (6) "Reasonable person" means a person in the victim's |
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| circumstances, with the victim's knowledge of the |
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| defendant and the defendant's prior acts. |
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| (7) "Third party" means any person other than the |
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| person violating these provisions and the person or persons |
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| towards whom the violator's actions are directed. |
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| (d) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service |
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| providers, and providers of information services, including, |
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| but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting |
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| service providers, are not liable under this Section, except |
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09600SB3359ham001 |
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LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a |
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| for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the |
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| transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications |
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| or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other |
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| related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or |
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| information services used by others in violation of this |
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| Section. |
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| (Source: P.A. 95-849, eff. 1-1-09; 96-328, eff. 8-11-09; |
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| 96-686, eff. 1-1-10; revised 10-20-09.)"; and |
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| on page 1, by inserting immediately below line 21 the |
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| following: |
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| "Section 10. The Harassing and Obscene Communications Act |
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| is amended by changing Section 1-2 as follows: |
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| (720 ILCS 135/1-2) |
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| Sec. 1-2. Harassment through electronic communications. |
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| (a) Harassment through electronic communications is the |
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| use of electronic
communication for any of the following |
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| purposes: |
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| (1) Making any comment, request, suggestion or |
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| proposal which is obscene
with an intent to offend; |
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| (1.5) Transmitting an electronic communication which |
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| is obscene with an intent to offend that is motivated by |
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| the actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, |
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| ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental |
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09600SB3359ham001 |
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LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a |
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| disability, or national origin of another individual or |
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| group of individuals, or other distinguishing personal |
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| characteristics; |
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| (2) Interrupting, with the intent to harass, the |
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| telephone service or the
electronic communication service |
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| of any person; |
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| (3) Transmitting to any person, with the intent to |
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| harass and regardless
of whether the communication is read |
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| in its entirety or at all, any file,
document, or other |
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| communication which prevents that person from using his or
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| her telephone service or electronic communications device; |
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| (3.1) Transmitting an electronic communication or |
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| knowingly inducing a
person to transmit an electronic |
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| communication for the purpose of harassing
another person |
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| who is under 13 years of age, regardless of whether the |
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| person
under 13 years of age consents to the harassment, if |
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| the defendant is at least
16 years of age at the time of |
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| the commission of the offense; |
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| (4) Threatening injury to the person or to the property |
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| of the person to
whom an electronic communication is |
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| directed or to any of his or her family or
household |
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| members; or |
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| (5) Knowingly permitting any electronic communications |
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| device to be used
for any of the purposes mentioned in this |
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| subsection (a). |
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| (b) As used in this Act: |
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09600SB3359ham001 |
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LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a |
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| (1) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of |
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| signs, signals,
writings, images, sounds, data or |
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| intelligence of any nature transmitted in
whole or in part |
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| by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric or
|
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| photo-optical system. "Electronic communication" includes |
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| transmissions through an electronic device including, but |
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| not limited to, a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or |
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| pager, which communication includes, but is not limited to, |
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| e-mail, instant message, text message, or voice mail by a |
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| computer through the Internet to another computer. |
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| (2) "Family or household member" includes spouses, |
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| former spouses,
parents,
children, stepchildren and other |
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| persons related by blood or by present or
prior
marriage, |
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| persons who share or formerly shared a common dwelling, |
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| persons who
have or allegedly share a blood relationship |
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| through a child, persons who have
or have had a dating or |
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| engagement relationship, and persons with disabilities
and |
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| their personal assistants. For purposes of this Act, |
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| neither a casual
acquaintanceship nor ordinary |
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| fraternization between 2 individuals in
business or social |
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| contexts shall be deemed to constitute a dating
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| relationship. |
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| (c) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service |
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| providers, and providers of information services, including, |
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| but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting |
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| service providers, are not liable under this Section, except |
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09600SB3359ham001 |
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LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a |
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| 1 |
| for willful and wanton misconduct, by virtue of the |
| 2 |
| transmission, storage, or caching of electronic communications |
| 3 |
| or messages of others or by virtue of the provision of other |
| 4 |
| related telecommunications, commercial mobile services, or |
| 5 |
| information services used by others in violation of this |
| 6 |
| Section. |
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| (Source: P.A. 95-849, eff. 1-1-09; 95-984, eff. 6-1-09; 96-328, |
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| eff. 8-11-09.)".
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