Understanding Telephone Harassment Laws in Illinois
Telephone harassment can be annoying and frightening. Luckily, both federal and Illinois state laws prohibit harassing phone calls. This article will explain what constitutes telephone harassment, penalties for offenders, and steps victims can take to stop unwanted calls.
What is Telephone Harassment?
Harassing phone calls are those intended to annoy, intimidate, or threaten the recipient. A single call may qualify if it causes extreme distress. Courts consider factors like timing, frequency, content, and caller ID spoofing.
Examples of telephone harassment include:
- Repeated hang-up calls
- Obscene or threatening language
- Heavy breathing, silence, or background noises meant to intimidate
- Deceitful caller ID spoofing
Federal Laws Against Telephone Harassment
The Federal Communications Act (47 U.S. Code § 223) bans obscene or harassing phone calls made with intent to abuse, threaten, or harass. Fines under this law can reach $10,000, with prison terms up to two years.
Illinois Telephone Harassment Laws
720 ILCS 135/1-1
This law prohibits using any device to make repeated calls lacking legitimate purpose, with intent to harass. Penalties can include up to 30 days imprisonment or $1500 fines.
720 ILCS 5/26.5
Making repeated calls to threaten or harass is illegal in Illinois. This law carries fines up to $2500, with prison terms up to three years.
What Constitutes Telephone Harassment?
Courts weigh several factors when determining if calls qualify as harassment, including:
- Timing: Late night or early morning calls often imply harassment
- Frequency: Frequent or repeated calls more clearly show intent to harass
- Content: Threats, lewd comments, or heavy breathing indicate harassment
- Spoofing: Faking caller ID suggests malicious intent
A single call could qualify as harassment if it includes threats, causes reasonable fear for safety, or uses obscene/lewd language.
Steps Victims Can Take Against Telephone Harassment
If you receive harassing phone calls, take these steps:
- Document Details: Record dates, times, content and caller ID for each call. Save voicemails.
- Contact Police: Report threatening calls immediately to aid investigation.
- Phone Company: Request call tracing, blocking, or new number from provider.
- Consult Attorney: Discuss potential civil charges against caller like invasion of privacy or intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Defenses to Telephone Harassment Charges
Those accused of telephone harassment may argue:
- Calls had legitimate purpose and no intent to harass
- Language was not obscene by community standards
- Volume/frequency of calls was reasonable
- Caller ID spoofing was accidental
An attorney can help analyze defenses and trial strategy if charged criminally.
Seeking Damages From Telephone Harassment
Beyond criminal charges, victims can pursue civil lawsuits against harassers including:
- Invasion of Privacy: Harassing calls infringe on victim’s reasonable expectation of solitude.
- Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED): Harassing conduct was extreme/outrageous, intentionally/recklessly causing severe emotional distress.
If threats or personal information disclosure caused harm like job loss or medical bills, victims may claim further damages.
Steps to Take Against Telephone Harassment
Unwanted harassing calls create stress. Take back control with these practical steps.
Report Threatening Calls to Police
If calls include threats of violence, contact police immediately. Provide available details like dates, times, caller ID, and specifics of what was said. Police can subpoena phone records and trace threatening calls.
Contact Phone Company About Options
Most providers offer call tracing, blocking, and assigning new numbers to combat harassment. Tracing identifies caller locations, while blocking prevents future calls. Getting a new, unlisted phone number cuts ties completely.
Consult Attorney Regarding Civil Damages
Beyond criminal charges, civil lawsuits can recover monetary damages from telephone harassment. Experienced attorneys help build cases showing harm from extreme distress, privacy invasion, lost wages, and other losses.
Keep Detailed Records
Carefully log every harassing call including dates, times, caller ID numbers, and what was said. Save voicemails and text messages as further evidence. Detailed documentation helps prosecutors establish intent and patterns of harassment.
Don’t Engage With Callers
As frustrating as it can be, avoid conversing with harassing callers. Any response may encourage future calls, while lack of engagement may discourage the unwanted contact over time. Calmly hang up calls without comment.
Use Call Blocking Features
Most phones today have easy call blocking capabilities. Use smartphone settings or contact carriers to block specific numbers. Apps like Nomorobo also automatically block likely spam calls. Activating these features helps minimize intrusions.
Potential Damages in Telephone Harassment Civil Lawsuits
Beyond criminal charges, victims can pursue civil lawsuits and monetary damages related to harassing phone calls. Some potential claims include:
Invasion of Privacy
Unwanted calls infringe on a victim’s reasonable expectation of privacy and seclusion in their own home. Harassment by phone is a classic invasion of privacy claim, especially with evidence showing extreme distress.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED)
IIED claims require showing harassing conduct was extreme/outrageous, intentionally/recklessly causing severe emotional distress. Threats/abuse by phone could meet the high standard for outrage and distress.
Economic Damages
If harassment caused specific monetary losses like lost wages, medical bills, or other costs, victims can claim these as economic damages. For example, job loss from extreme distress or stalking caused by phone threats.
Punitive Damages
To punish and deter intentional or reckless misconduct, courts may award punitive damages in civil harassment cases. The court determines the punitive amount based on factors like the harasser’s assets and attitude.
Consulting an experienced personal injury or harassment attorney helps determine which civil damages may apply in your unique situation. Suits require concrete evidence tying phone harassment to tangible emotional, physical, and economic harm.
When Harassing Calls Become a Crime in Illinois
While an occasional prank call may only warrant blocking the number, Illinois laws make repeated telephone harassment a crime. These key factors help distinguish criminal conduct:
Pattern of Unwanted Calls
Courts look for evidence of an ongoing pattern of unwanted contact lacking any legitimate purpose. For example, frequent hang up calls from blocked numbers. Random one-off calls likely fall short of criminality.
Intent to Harass or Threaten
Criminal telephone harassment requires showing the perpetrator’s intent was to emotionally torment the victim. Prosecutors must prove the caller purposely annoyed, alarmed or abused for no lawful reason.
Causing Reasonable Fear
Phone calls constitute harassment if they would cause a reasonable person fear for their own safety or their family’s. Threats of violence carry criminal liability.
Timing of Calls
The timing of calls often demonstrates criminal intent. Late night or early morning calls suggest conscious efforts to disturb victims’ peace.
Harassing Language
Obscene suggestions, sexual language, racial slurs and threats all help build a criminal case showing intent to harass by phone. Foul language alone though may not suffice.
In borderline cases, experienced criminal defense lawyers can argue against charges where intent, language or distress level don’t clearly meet statutes. Victims should keep detailed records and contact police regarding threatening callers.
Conclusion
Dealing with harassing phone calls can be stressful and frightening. However, strong laws prohibit this malicious conduct, with criminal and civil penalties to deter future harassment. By reporting threatening callers, blocking numbers, keeping detailed records and consulting attorneys, victims can take back control. Persistent harassment may warrant legal action, but avoiding engagement, tracing calls and ultimately getting a new phone number help minimize disruptions.