Judiciary II - Criminal Law Committee

Filed: 4/15/2010

 

 


 

 


 
09600SB3359ham001 LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a

1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3359

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 3359 on page 1, by
3 replacing lines 4 and 5 with the following:
 
4     "Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended by
5 changing Section 12-7.5 and by adding Section 12-10.3 as
6 follows:
 
7     (720 ILCS 5/12-7.5)
8     Sec. 12-7.5. Cyberstalking.
9     (a) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she engages
10 in a course of conduct using electronic communication directed
11 at a specific person, and he or she knows or should know that
12 would cause a reasonable person to:
13         (1) fear for his or her safety or the safety of a third
14     person; or
15         (2) suffer other emotional distress.
16     (a-3) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she,

 

 

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1 knowingly and without lawful justification, on at least 2
2 separate occasions, harasses another person through the use of
3 electronic communication and:
4         (1) at any time transmits a threat of immediate or
5     future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or
6     restraint and the threat is directed towards that person or
7     a family member of that person; or
8         (2) places that person or a family member of that
9     person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future
10     bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint; or
11         (3) at any time knowingly solicits the commission of an
12     act by any person which would be a violation of this Code
13     directed towards that person or a family member of that
14     person.
15     (a-5) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she,
16 knowingly and without lawful justification, creates and
17 maintains an Internet website or webpage which is accessible to
18 one or more third parties for a period of at least 24 hours,
19 and which contains statements harassing another person and:
20         (1) which communicates a threat of immediate or future
21     bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint,
22     where the threat is directed towards that person or a
23     family member of that person, or
24         (2) which places that person or a family member of that
25     person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future
26     bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint, or

 

 

09600SB3359ham001 - 3 - LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a

1         (3) which knowingly solicits the commission of an act
2     by any person which would be a violation of this Code
3     directed towards that person or a family member of that
4     person.
5     (b) Sentence. Cyberstalking is a Class 4 felony. A second
6 or subsequent conviction for cyberstalking is a Class 3 felony.
7     (c) For purposes of this Section:
8         (1) "Course of conduct" means 2 or more acts, including
9     but not limited to acts in which a defendant directly,
10     indirectly, or through third parties, by any action,
11     method, device, or means follows, monitors, observes,
12     surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about, a person,
13     engages in other non-consensual contact, or interferes
14     with or damages a person's property or pet. The
15     incarceration in a penal institution of a person who
16     commits the course of conduct is not a bar to prosecution
17     under this Section.
18         (2) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of
19     signs, signals, writings, sounds, data, or intelligence of
20     any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire,
21     radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical
22     system. "Electronic communication" includes transmissions
23     through an electronic device including, but not limited to,
24     a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager, which
25     communication includes, but is not limited to, e-mail,
26     instant message, text message, or voice mail by a computer

 

 

09600SB3359ham001 - 4 - LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a

1     through the Internet to another computer.
2         (3) "Emotional distress" means significant mental
3     suffering, anxiety or alarm.
4         (4) "Harass" means to engage in a knowing and willful
5     course of conduct directed at a specific person that
6     alarms, torments, or terrorizes that person.
7         (5) "Non-consensual contact" means any contact with
8     the victim that is initiated or continued without the
9     victim's consent, including but not limited to being in the
10     physical presence of the victim; appearing within the sight
11     of the victim; approaching or confronting the victim in a
12     public place or on private property; appearing at the
13     workplace or residence of the victim; entering onto or
14     remaining on property owned, leased, or occupied by the
15     victim; or placing an object on, or delivering an object
16     to, property owned, leased, or occupied by the victim.
17         (6) "Reasonable person" means a person in the victim's
18     circumstances, with the victim's knowledge of the
19     defendant and the defendant's prior acts.
20         (7) "Third party" means any person other than the
21     person violating these provisions and the person or persons
22     towards whom the violator's actions are directed.
23     (d) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service
24 providers, and providers of information services, including,
25 but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting
26 service providers, are not liable under this Section, except

 

 

09600SB3359ham001 - 5 - LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a

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.
7 (Source: P.A. 95-849, eff. 1-1-09; 96-328, eff. 8-11-09;
8 96-686, eff. 1-1-10; revised 10-20-09.)"; and
 
9 on page 1, by inserting immediately below line 21 the
10 following:
 
11     "Section 10. The Harassing and Obscene Communications Act
12 is amended by changing Section 1-2 as follows:
 
13     (720 ILCS 135/1-2)
14     Sec. 1-2. Harassment through electronic communications.
15     (a) Harassment through electronic communications is the
16 use of electronic communication for any of the following
17 purposes:
18         (1) Making any comment, request, suggestion or
19     proposal which is obscene with an intent to offend;
20         (1.5) Transmitting an electronic communication which
21     is obscene with an intent to offend that is motivated by
22     the actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion,
23     ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental

 

 

09600SB3359ham001 - 6 - LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a

1     disability, or national origin of another individual or
2     group of individuals, or other distinguishing personal
3     characteristics;
4         (2) Interrupting, with the intent to harass, the
5     telephone service or the electronic communication service
6     of any person;
7         (3) Transmitting to any person, with the intent to
8     harass and regardless of whether the communication is read
9     in its entirety or at all, any file, document, or other
10     communication which prevents that person from using his or
11     her telephone service or electronic communications device;
12         (3.1) Transmitting an electronic communication or
13     knowingly inducing a person to transmit an electronic
14     communication for the purpose of harassing another person
15     who is under 13 years of age, regardless of whether the
16     person under 13 years of age consents to the harassment, if
17     the defendant is at least 16 years of age at the time of
18     the commission of the offense;
19         (4) Threatening injury to the person or to the property
20     of the person to whom an electronic communication is
21     directed or to any of his or her family or household
22     members; or
23         (5) Knowingly permitting any electronic communications
24     device to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in this
25     subsection (a).
26     (b) As used in this Act:

 

 

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1         (1) "Electronic communication" means any transfer of
2     signs, signals, writings, images, sounds, data or
3     intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part
4     by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric or
5     photo-optical system. "Electronic communication" includes
6     transmissions through an electronic device including, but
7     not limited to, a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or
8     pager, which communication includes, but is not limited to,
9     e-mail, instant message, text message, or voice mail by a
10     computer through the Internet to another computer.
11         (2) "Family or household member" includes spouses,
12     former spouses, parents, children, stepchildren and other
13     persons related by blood or by present or prior marriage,
14     persons who share or formerly shared a common dwelling,
15     persons who have or allegedly share a blood relationship
16     through a child, persons who have or have had a dating or
17     engagement relationship, and persons with disabilities and
18     their personal assistants. For purposes of this Act,
19     neither a casual acquaintanceship nor ordinary
20     fraternization between 2 individuals in business or social
21     contexts shall be deemed to constitute a dating
22     relationship.
23     (c) Telecommunications carriers, commercial mobile service
24 providers, and providers of information services, including,
25 but not limited to, Internet service providers and hosting
26 service providers, are not liable under this Section, except

 

 

09600SB3359ham001 - 8 - LRB096 20511 RLC 40055 a

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.
7 (Source: P.A. 95-849, eff. 1-1-09; 95-984, eff. 6-1-09; 96-328,
8 eff. 8-11-09.)".