Multiple Cyber Stalking Charges Dropped

March 02, 2011

Criminal lawyer Jesse Scharff at the Roberts Law Group PLLC recently secured a client victory in a case where his female client was facing serious criminal penalties, including jail time and fines, for allegedly cyber stalking another woman. This North Carolina criminal defense attorney defended his client against four felony charges in Wake County and two misdemeanor charges for cyber stalking in Orange County, all of which were dismissed after Mr. Scharff began investigating the circumstances of the case.

Mr. Scharff's client was charged with cyber stalking after another woman accused her of sending text and cell phone messages despite a civil domestic violence protective order preventing contact between the two women. The messages to the alleged victim were often sent from an odd third party number but initially prosecutors and law enforcement believed that it was Mr. Scharff's client who was sending the harassing messages.

The turning point in securing the dismissal of the four felony charges and two misdemeanor charges was when Mr. Scharff was able to demonstrate that the alleged victim in this case was actually involved in the same type of conduct in another case. The "victim" was sending the messages to herself, using a third party service to hide her number. Mr. Scharff was able to convince the civil court to grant an emergency notice requiring the alleged victim to stay away from his client.

After the emergency stay away order was granted, the prosecutor in Wake County dropped the felony charges because it became clear that the state's witness, the alleged victim, wouldn't follow the terms of the stay away order and instead sent Facebook messages, text messages and handwritten messages to Mr. Scharff's client. In this case, it seems, the defendant was actually the victim and she was wrongfully charged with several counts of felony cyber stalking.

According to Mr. Scharff, this was a big win for his client. "The civil court reversed the roles in criminal court because, all of a sudden, our client became the victim due to our win in getting the emergency stay granted in civil court," Mr. Scharff said.

In general, cyber stalking and sexual harassment via text messages or "sexting" cases are difficult to prosecute and defend. The cases usually involve complicated matters of technology. Advancements in technology also allow people to send messages, such as text messages or e-mails, from non-listed numbers and e-mail accounts. This makes investigating the case very complicated. It is always recommended to hire a North Carolina criminal lawyer who has experience handling these types of complex cyber stalking cases if ever accused of cyber stalking.

Mr. Scharff has years of criminal defense experience, including his time working as a Public Defender in Baltimore, Maryland. While working as a public defender, Mr. Scharff handled a large case load that provided him with the opportunity to represent clients charged with a variety of crimes. He is able to rely on his experience as a public defender when defending against complicated cases, such as cyber stalking or other technology-based crimes. Mr. Scharff knows how to appropriately investigate these cases to ensure that the technology wasn't abused to wrongfully implicate his clients.

DISCLAIMER: The cases, facts and outcomes discussed in this press release are illustrative of the matters handled by the firm. Actual case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Not all of the firm's case results are included on this site. The outcome of a particular case cannot be predicated upon a lawyer's or law firm's past results because prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

For more information about the Roberts Law Group, see his criminal defense website and criminal defense blog. Patrick Roberts is a skilled criminal attorney who defends against sex crime charges, DWI charges and abuse charges, among others in Wake County. To contact criminal lawyer Patrick Roberts, please contact the law firm or call 866-630-2389 for a free consultation. Roberts Law Group can also be followed on Facebook at facebook.com/nc.criminal.defense.