Stalking Victim Protection Pushed By Bucks Lawmakers

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Legislation that would increase protections for stalking victims across the Commonwealth is being pushed by five Harrisburg lawmakers, including three from Bucks County.

State Reps. K.C. Tomlinson and Kristin Marcell —who represent Lower Bucks County —are putting forward a package of bills to expand the legal protections available to stalking victims while increasing the criminal penalties levied on stalkers so that victims of stalking can feel safer.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men in the nation experience stalking at some point in their lives. The majority of stalking victims are, at some point, threatened by their stalkers with physical harm.

State Reps. Shelby Labs (R-Bucks), Abby Major (R-Armstrong/Westmoreland), and Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny/Washington) are also involved.

Tomlinson’s proposed legislation would impose a mandatory minimum penalty of at least five years’ incarceration for any defendant convicted of a second or subsequent offense of stalking.

“Given the world we live in today with social media stalking is easier than ever, we need to find more ways to protect victims and send a clear message to predators that these crimes will not be tolerated,” said Tomlinson, who represents Bensalem Township and Hulmevill Borough..

Marcell proposed legislation that would allow judges to deny social media access to stalkers in Protection from Abuse (PFA) proceedings. While this is a common restriction for judges to impose for stalkers serving their sentence, it is unclear whether they can do so under the PFA Act. This legislation would provide that clarity to protect victims and deny social media access for stalkers in PFA proceedings.

“This legislation will provide critical protections for stalking victims by ensuring that those who seek to harm or intimidate through social media will no longer have that avenue available to them,” Marcell said. “By allowing judges to prohibit social media access in Protection from Abuse proceedings, we are giving victims a powerful tool to protect their safety and well-being, and sending a clear message that online stalking will not be tolerated.”

Proposed legislation from Labs would broaden the scope of criminal liability under Pennsylvania’s stalking statute by amending the Crimes Code to provide that a person commits the offense of stalking when the person knowingly or recklessly places another person in reasonable fear of bodily injury.

Labs has also proposed legislation that would require defendants convicted of certain domestic violence offenses, such as aggravated assault, strangulation and stalking, to notify law enforcement and the Office of Victim Advocate if they obtain a new job, residency or vehicle.

Other legislation would create the Civilian Community Relations Specialists Fund to alleviate the cost for police departments across the Commonwealth to establish and hire civilian community relations specialists.

Major proposed legislation would increase the grading of the offense of stalking from a misdemeanor to a felony when the victim is a minor and the defendant is an adult who is at least four years older than the minor victim.

Labs and Marcell have also jointly proposed a resolution that would recognize the month of January 2025 as “Stalking Awareness Month” in the Commonwealth.