Everything You Need to Know About Stalking and Aggravated Stalking in Florida

May 21, 2025 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Criminal Defense Social Share

Stalking and aggravated stalking are serious criminal offenses that can carry significant legal and financial penalties. This page will define stalking under Florida law, outline elements that must be proven to establish someone is guilty of stalking, and potentially punishments someone may face if convicted.

What is Stalking and Aggravated Stalking?

Stalking occurs when a person willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses, or cyberstalks another person. Florida Statutes Section 784.048(2) regulates the offense of stalking.

Common examples of stalking include when a person:

• Repeatedly calls another individual at their home or place of employment with attempt to emotionally disturb them
• Sends a victim unwanted written notes or gifts repeatedly
• Deliberately sitting in a parked car just outside the victim’s residence on multiple occasions in violation of the victim’s wishes and without a legitimate purpose

Stalking is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The Florida Bar’s standard jury instructions note that for the State to prove the offense of stalking, the following must be established beyond a reasonable doubt:

• The defendant willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly followed, harassed, or cyberstalked the victim

Cyberstalking carries the same criminal penalties as stalking. Cyberstalking takes place when someone does either of the following:

• Engages in a course of conduct to communicate words, images, or language through electronic methods, either directly or indirectly, which is directed at or pertaining to a targeted person; or
• Accesses, or attempts to access, the online account or internet-connected home electronic system without the specified person’s consent and that causes substantial emotional distress to the victim 

However, stalking is an enhanceable offense, meaning certain forms of stalking are felonies and carry heavier criminal penalties under Florida law. For example:

• Someone who makes a credible threat to the victim in the course of stalking commits a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine
• Someone who stalks a victim 16 years old or younger commits a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine
• Someone who violates an existing injunction against stalking commits aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine

Note: An officer may make a warrantless arrest of anyone they suspect of stalking based on probable cause.

Under the law, stalking must be done willfully and maliciously. “Willfully” is defined as knowingly, intentionally, and purposely. Patterson v. State, 512 So. 2d 1109 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). “Maliciously” is defined as wrongfully, intentionally, and without lawful justification or excuse. Seese v. State, 955 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007).  

If someone has been accused of stalking by harassing the victim, the State must establish that the defendant engaged in a course of conduct directed at the victim that:

• Served no legitimate purpose
• Would cause substantial emotional distress to a reasonable person
• Did cause substantial emotional distress to the victim

In addition to stalking, there is aggravated stalking. Aggravated stalking includes the elements of stalking, but with the added requirement of making a credible threat to the victim, or violating an injunction for protection against violence. Ford v. State, 387 So.3d 1283 (Fla. 1st DCA 2024). 

Aggravated stalking is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Moreover, under Florida Statutes Section 784.048, a court may issue an order restraining the defendant in an aggravated stalking case from contacting the victim for up to 10 years.

Under Florida’s stalking law, someone may also be found guilty of aggravated stalking if their conduct constitutes stalking and satisfies any of the following requirements:

• The victim was 15 years old or younger
• The defendant was convicted of a lewd or lascivious crime either upon or in the presence of the victim when the victim was a child under the age of 16, or sent prohibited computer transmissions to the victim, while they were prevented from being in contact with the victim in connection to the original offense

Defenses to stalking and aggravated stalking include:

• There was a legitimate purpose to the actions taken by the defendant
• There was no wilful and malicious intent on the part of the defendant to stalk
• The “course of conduct” was not actually directed at the victim
• For cyberstalking, the prohibited electronic communications allegedly sent by the defendant were sent by another party
• The alleged harassment did not cause substantial emotional distress to the victim or wouldn’t to a reasonable person
• Entrapment by law enforcement, if a defendant was not predisposed and was induced to act

Without proof beyond a reasonable doubt of these three elements, someone may not be convicted of stalking based on harassment. Pallas v. State, 636 So. 2d 1358 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994).

Stalking must also be based on a course of conduct. This is defined as a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, which evidences a continuity of purpose.

Note: If someone is found guilty of stalking, Florida Statutes Section 784.048(2) advises courts to consider issuing a restraining order to prohibit contact with the victim by the defendant. This order may be valid for as long as 10 years after the conviction, depending on the evidence at trial.

Florida courts have held that harassment, for purposes of stalking, must consist of repeated actions that are separate by time or distance. Paylan v. Statton, 376 So.3d 822 (Fla 2nd DCA 2023)

Courts have also stated that for an alleged victim to be eligible to enter an injunction against someone for stalking, there must be at least two separate instances of stalking by “competent, substantial evidence.” Cash v. Gagnon, 306 So.3d 106 (Fla 4th DCA 2020)

When someone has been accused of stalking by following the alleged victim, this includes physically “tailing, shadowing, or pursuing” the victim on two or more occasions. Santiago v. Leon, 299 So.3d 1114 (Fla 3rd DCA 2020)

Courts have recognized that there are two different standards for issuing stalking-related injunctions. An injunction based on harassment is based on whether a “reasonable person” would have experienced substantial emotional disturbance as a result of the harassment rather than the subjective emotional state of the victim. Chiu v. Adams, 327 So.3d 889 (Fla 5th DCA 2021). 

Alternatively, an injunction based on alleged dating violence must be based on whether the victim themselves experienced substantial emotional distress. Khan v. Deutschman, 282 So.3d 965 (Fla 1st DCA 2019)

In 2001, a Florida court ruled that sending balloons and flowers did not constitute stalking as a matter of law. McMath v. Biernacki, 776 So.2d 1039 (Fla 1st DCA 2001)

In another stalking case, a court held that a defendant who threatened a neighbor with a gun before walking across the street and shoving that neighbor’s stepson did not engage in stalking, as although these were two separate acts, they were part of the same course of conduct. Packal v. Johnson, 226 So.3d 337 (Fla 5th DCA 2017).

If someone is charged with stalking, it is critical to find experienced and trusted legal representation as soon as possible. This vital decision could make the difference in whether or not a person is subject to a lengthy prison term, hefty fines, and depending on the nature of the abuse, whether they are required to register as a sex offender for the rest of their life.

Criminal Defense Attorney in Tallahassee, FL

Don Pumphrey, Jr. is a Former Prosecutor, Former State Police Officer, Lifetime Member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; for over 25 years as a private defense attorney who is Trusted, Experienced, Aggressive in Criminal Defense as a Trial Attorney, Criminal Lawyer, Criminal Defense Lawyer for the accused in Florida State Courts located in Tallahassee, Florida but handling cases throughout the State of Florida.

Don Pumphrey, Jr. and the Tallahassee criminal defense lawyers at Pumphrey Law have decades of experience fighting drug charges on behalf of clients and winning. Call Pumphrey Law now at (850) 681-7777 to learn more about what we can do for you. Our lawyers will be happy to provide you with a free consultation.

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