Stalking Charges in Florida
- Jan 26, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 9, 2025
According to Florida Statute 784.048, stalking is any type of persistent harassment that poses a real risk of damage. Harassment is a behavior pattern that:
Focuses on a single individual
Causes significant emotional discomfort
Serves no useful purpose
The offense of stalking includes a wide range of actions. Here are a few examples:
Gathering details about someone without their consent
Unwelcome contact through phone calls, texts, mail, letters, or gifts.
Threatening a person's family, friends, or pets
Capturing images or videos without consent
Monitoring a person's online behavior
Unwanted visits to a person's house, workplace, or study institution
Destroying someone's property
What are the penalties for stalking in Florida?
Florida Law makes two distinctions for stalking offenses:
Simple stalking:
No minors involved
No existing restraining order
No threats involved
Simple stalking is considered a first-degree misdemeanor, and the punishment may involve up to $1,000 in fines, a year in jail, and a one-year probation period. Additionally, the court can mandate counseling or therapy and allow the plaintiff to request a restraining order against the stalker.
Aggravated Stalking:
Aggravated stalking is considered a third-degree felony and involves a punishment of up to $5,000 in fines and a maximum of five years in prison. The plaintiff can also request a restraining order. Aggravated stalking has several forms:
Aggravated stalking against a child under the age of 15
Aggravated stalking with credible threats involved
Aggravated stalking when there is an existing restraining order against the accused
Aggravated stalking with the accused previously being convicted of lewd or lascivious crimes upon or in the presence of someone under 16.
Contact Our Stalking Defense Attorneys in Pensacola Today
Even if you are innocent, you should always treat the crime of stalking seriously. Don't interact with the cops without a Florida criminal defense lawyer nearby. Let the Pensacola stalking & harassment lawyers at Mitkevicius Law assist you.
