HF 5

1st Engrossment - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to crime; clarifying the elements of the 
  1.3             harassment and stalking crime; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 1996, section 609.749, subdivisions 1, 2, 5, 
  1.5             and by adding a subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.749, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITION.] As used in this section, 
  1.10  "harass" means to engage in intentional conduct in a manner that 
  1.11  which:  
  1.12     (1) the actor knows or should know would cause a reasonable 
  1.13  person the victim under the circumstances to feel frightened, 
  1.14  threatened, oppressed, persecuted, or intimidated; and 
  1.15     (2) causes this reaction on the part of the victim. 
  1.16     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.749, is 
  1.17  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.18     Subd. 1a.  [NO PROOF OF SPECIFIC INTENT REQUIRED.] In a 
  1.19  prosecution under this section, the state is not required to 
  1.20  prove that the actor intended to cause the victim to feel 
  1.21  frightened, threatened, oppressed, persecuted, or intimidated, 
  1.22  or except as otherwise provided in subdivision 3, clause (4), 
  1.23  that the actor intended to cause any other result. 
  1.24     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.749, 
  1.25  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.1      Subd. 2.  [HARASSMENT AND STALKING CRIMES.] (a) A person 
  2.2   who harasses another by committing any of the following acts is 
  2.3   guilty of a gross misdemeanor: 
  2.4      (1) directly or indirectly manifests a purpose or intent to 
  2.5   injure the person, property, or rights of another by the 
  2.6   commission of an unlawful act; 
  2.7      (2) stalks, follows, or pursues another; 
  2.8      (3) returns to the property of another if the actor is 
  2.9   without claim of right to the property or consent of one with 
  2.10  authority to consent; 
  2.11     (4) repeatedly makes telephone calls, or induces a victim 
  2.12  to make telephone calls to the actor, whether or not 
  2.13  conversation ensues; 
  2.14     (5) makes or causes the telephone of another repeatedly or 
  2.15  continuously to ring; 
  2.16     (6) repeatedly uses the mail mails or delivers or causes 
  2.17  the delivery of letters, telegrams, messages, packages, or other 
  2.18  objects; or 
  2.19     (7) engages in any other harassing conduct that interferes 
  2.20  with another person or intrudes on the person's privacy or 
  2.21  liberty. 
  2.22     (b) The conduct described in paragraph (a), clauses (4) and 
  2.23  (5) may be prosecuted either at the place where the any call is 
  2.24  either made or where it is received.  The conduct described 
  2.25  in paragraph (a), clause (6) may be prosecuted either where the 
  2.26  mail is deposited or where it is any letter, telegram, message, 
  2.27  package, or other object is either sent or received. 
  2.28     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.749, 
  2.29  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  2.30     Subd. 5.  [PATTERN OF HARASSING CONDUCT.] (a) A person who 
  2.31  engages in a pattern of harassing conduct with respect to a 
  2.32  single victim or one or more members of a single household in a 
  2.33  manner that which the actor knows or should know would cause a 
  2.34  reasonable person the victim under the circumstances to feel 
  2.35  terrorized or to fear bodily harm and that which does cause this 
  2.36  reaction on the part of the victim, is guilty of a felony and 
  3.1   may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten years or 
  3.2   to payment of a fine of not more than $20,000, or both. 
  3.3      (b) For purposes of this subdivision, a "pattern of 
  3.4   harassing conduct" means two or more acts within a five-year 
  3.5   period that violate the provisions of any of the following: 
  3.6      (1) this section; 
  3.7      (2) section 609.713; 
  3.8      (3) section 609.224; 
  3.9      (4) section 609.2242; 
  3.10     (5) section 518B.01, subdivision 14; 
  3.11     (6) section 609.748, subdivision 6; 
  3.12     (7) section 609.605, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clauses 
  3.13  (3), (4), and (7); 
  3.14     (8) section 609.79; 
  3.15     (9) section 609.795; 
  3.16     (10) section 609.582; or 
  3.17     (11) section 609.595; or 
  3.18     (12) section 609.765. 
  3.19     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.20     Sections 1 to 4 are effective the day following final 
  3.21  enactment, and apply to crimes committed on or after that date.