Full question:
My boyfriends soon be ex wife continually calls my place of work asking for me. Not leaving her name /or making up a name and not leaving a return phone number. At times saying its an emergency. I never receive personal calls at work. My boss and manager I had to let now about my situation due to the excesses calls. At work we have several phone lines at and no caller ID. Which makes it hard to prove where the calls are coming from. My boyfriend tried to get a restraining order against her to her excesses calling me and him. But it was not granted. She has followed me from his home till I got on the freeway. Some days she will call my work up to 6 times a day. She has showed up at my work three times just sitting in here car in the parking. Not knowing what kind of a car she drove at the time and her licence plate number I know now it was her. Due to the description. What can I due to protect my self from getting fired from work and for my safety. The judge did not approve the restraining or from my boyfriend but did tell her to stop. It is getting worse with her friends now calling my work.
- Category: Criminal
- Subcategory: Harassment
- Date:
- State: California
Answer:
You may wish to report this conduct to the police department or the sheriff's office. Under California law, both harassment and stalking are crimes, and hostile acts toward a person because of gender is a hate crime under California Penal Code Sections 422.6 and 422.55.
California Penal Code Section 422.55 provides as follows:
422.55. For purposes of this title, and for purposes of all other state law unless an explicit provision of law or the context clearly requires a different meaning, the following shall apply:
(a) "Hate crime" means a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of one or more of the following actual or perceived characteristics of the victim:
(1) Disability.
(2) Gender.
(3) Nationality.
(4) Race or ethnicity.
(5) Religion.
(6) Sexual orientation.
(7) Association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.
(b) "Hate crime" includes, but is not limited to, a violation of Section 422.6.
California Penal Code Section 422.6. provides that:
(a) No person, whether or not acting under color of law,
shall by force or threat of force, willfully injure, intimidate,
interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in the free
exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him or her
by the Constitution or laws of this state or by the Constitution or
laws of the United States in whole or in part because of one or more
of the actual or perceived characteristics of the victim listed in
subdivision (a) of Section 422.55.
(b) No person, whether or not acting under color of law, shall
knowingly deface, damage, or destroy the real or personal property of
any other person for the purpose of intimidating or interfering with
the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to
the other person by the Constitution or laws of this state or by the
Constitution or laws of the United States, in whole or in part
because of one or more of the actual or perceived characteristics of
the victim listed in subdivision (a) of Section 422.55.
(c) Any person convicted of violating subdivision (a) or (b) shall
be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year,
or by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by
both the above imprisonment and fine, and the court shall order the
defendant to perform a minimum of community service, not to exceed
400 hours, to be performed over a period not to exceed 350 days,
during a time other than his or her hours of employment or school
attendance. However, no person may be convicted of violating
subdivision (a) based upon speech alone, except upon a showing that
the speech itself threatened violence against a specific person or
group of persons and that the defendant had the apparent ability to
carry out the threat.
(d) Conduct that violates this and any other provision of law,
including, but not limited to, an offense described in Article 4.5
(commencing with Section 11410) of Chapter 3 of Title 1 of Part 4,
may be charged under all applicable provisions. However, an act or
omission punishable in different ways by this section and other
provisions of law shall not be punished under more than one
provision, and the penalty to be imposed shall be determined as set
forth in Section 654.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
