Ill. Gov. George Ryan (R) signed bill to make ‘cyberstalking’ a c...
Ill. Gov. George Ryan (R) signed bill to make “cyberstalking” a crime. Under new law (SB-233), crime of cyberstalking is defined as using e-mail or other forms of online communication to send threats of bodily harm, sexual assault, restraint…
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or confinement to another person on 2 or more occasions. Crime carries same penalties as traditional forms of stalking, including up to 3 years in prison on first offense and up to 5 years for additional offenses. Ryan said cyberstalking could be more dangerous than traditional forms of stalking because of challenge for victims and police to prove offense had occurred. He said bill would help ensure cyberstalking cases were treated in same way as other types of stalking. Ill. becomes 31st state with cyberstalking law. Ryan also signed another telecom-related bill (HB-476) that exempts prisons from enhanced 911 phone law that requires customers with large buildings to have internal phone systems that automatically pinpoint exact location on premises where emergency is occurring. Efforts to add schools to exemption bill failed, and schools say they must pay tens of thousands of dollars to comply with E911 location law.