St. Charles Stalking and Harassment Divorce Lawyer

Kane County Divorce Attorney Assisting With Spousal Stalking or Harassment

If you have separated from your spouse prior to filing for divorce or while your divorce is pending, you no longer have to face them on a daily basis. However, a suspicious, vindictive, or mentally unstable spouse may try to spy on you in hopes of obtaining information they can use against you during the divorce process. For example, your spouse might try to compile evidence of drug or alcohol abuse or mental instability for use against you in a parenting dispute. An angry spouse could also subject you to harassment or stalking in hopes of pressuring you into a divorce settlement. Sometimes, there is no explanation for their behavior.

At Goostree Law Group, we are committed to helping our clients with all of their divorce challenges. If your spouse begins stalking or harassing you, there are legal steps we can take for your protection.

Each of our attorneys has an average of 15 years of experience in the practice of divorce and family law. Thus, we are fully prepared to handle even the most complicated family situations, including those involving domestic violence and false allegations.

Illinois Criminal Law on Stalking, Harassment, and Electronic Monitoring

• Stalking. Illinois law defines criminal stalking as multiple acts that would cause a reasonable person to suffer significant emotional distress and to fear for their own safety and/or the safety of a third person (720 ILCS 5/12-7.3). Acts of stalking include following you, vandalizing your property, injuring a pet, or sending unwanted communications to you in any form, including via telephone, mail, internet, or personal delivery. Cyberstalking is a form of stalking that involves making threats of physical harm via electronic communications and/or electronically spying on you as a means of harassment (720 ILCS 5/12-7.5). Stalking is a Class 4 felony in Illinois.
• Harassment. Illinois law defines harassment as actions taken knowingly and with no valid purpose that would cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress and that does actually cause emotional distress to you. Acts of harassment include making obscene or offensive comments or requests via telephone, internet, or other electronic means, making repeated hang-up phone calls, or making phone calls with the intent to abuse, threaten or harass you. Harassment is usually a misdemeanor offense, but it may be elevated to a felony in some situations, such as when the offender makes a threat to kill (720 ILCS 5/26.5).

Obtaining a Restraining Order for Protection From Stalking

The experienced attorneys at Goostree Law Group can assist you with:

• Documenting specific acts of stalking or harassment and gathering related evidence, such as printouts of emails, text messages, and social media posts.
• Filing a court petition for a stalking no-contact order. The stalker will be served with a court summons and ordered to appear at a court hearing to offer their defense, if any.
• Appearing with you at the required court hearing, at which we must explain to a judge why the order should be granted.
• Helping you file a police report and convince the police that the crime of stalking has occurred. Note that you can obtain a stalking no-contact order for your protection regardless of whether the police investigate or arrest the stalker.

A stalking no-contact order is a type of protective order that specifically addresses stalking behaviors (740 ILCS 21). The order can:

• Prohibit a person from threatening to commit or committing stalking.
• Order the person not to have any contact with you.
• Prohibit the person from knowingly coming within a specified distance of you or your home, workplace, or other specified places.
• Prohibit the person from possessing firearms.
• Other remedies the court deems necessary.

Contact a St. Charles Stalking and Harassment in Divorce Lawyer

The attorneys of Goostree Law Group will advocate strongly for your interests in matters of divorce, family law, and criminal defense. We serve clients in the Kane County communities of St. Charles, Campton Hills, Elgin, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, Elburn, Kaneville, and LaFox. Contact us in our St. Charles office at 630-584-4800 for a free consultation.