                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

STALKING; PENALTY (§ 18.2-60.3)

A. Any person, except a law-enforcement officer, as defined in &#xA7; 9.1-101,
and acting in the performance of his official duties, and a registered private
investigator, as defined in &#xA7; 9.1-138, who is regulated in accordance with
&#xA7; 9.1-139 and acting in the course of his legitimate business, who on more
than one occasion engages in conduct, either in person or through any other
means, including by mail, telephone, or an electronically transmitted
communication, directed at another person with the intent to place, or when he
knows or reasonably should know that the conduct places that other person in
reasonable fear of death, criminal sexual assault, or bodily injury to that
other person or to that other person&#8217;s family or household member is
guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. If the person contacts or follows or attempts
to contact or follow the person at whom the conduct is directed after being
given actual notice that the person does not want to be contacted or followed,
such actions shall be prima facie evidence that the person intended to place
that other person, or reasonably should have known that the other person was
placed, in reasonable fear of death, criminal sexual assault, or bodily injury
to himself or a family or household member.

B. Any person who is convicted of a second offense of subsection A occurring
within five years of a prior conviction of such an offense under this section or
for a substantially similar offense under the law of any other jurisdiction is
guilty of a Class 6 felony.

C. A person may be convicted under this section in any jurisdiction within the
Commonwealth wherein the conduct described in subsection A occurred, if the
person engaged in that conduct on at least one occasion in the jurisdiction
where the person is tried or in the jurisdiction where the person at whom the
conduct is directed resided at the time of such conduct. Evidence of any such
conduct that occurred outside the Commonwealth may be admissible, if relevant,
in any prosecution under this section.

D. Upon finding a person guilty under this section, the court shall, in addition
to the sentence imposed, issue an order prohibiting contact between the
defendant and the victim or the victim&#8217;s family or household member.

E. The Department of Corrections, sheriff or regional jail director shall give
notice prior to the release from a state correctional facility or a local or
regional jail of any person incarcerated upon conviction of a violation of this
section, to any victim of the offense who, in writing, requests notice, or to
any person designated in writing by the victim. The notice shall be given at
least 15 days prior to release of a person sentenced to a term of incarceration
of more than 30 days or, if the person was sentenced to a term of incarceration
of at least 48 hours but no more than 30 days, 24 hours prior to release. If the
person escapes, notice shall be given as soon as practicable following the
escape. The victim shall keep the Department of Corrections, sheriff or regional
jail director informed of the current mailing address and telephone number of
the person named in the writing submitted to receive notice.
			All information relating to any person who receives or may receive notice
under this subsection shall remain confidential and shall not be made available
to the person convicted of violating this section.
			For purposes of this subsection, &#8220;release&#8221; includes a release of
the offender from a state correctional facility or a local or regional jail (i)
upon completion of his term of incarceration or (ii) on probation or parole.
			No civil liability shall attach to the Department of Corrections nor to any
sheriff or regional jail director or their deputies or employees for a failure
to comply with the requirements of this subsection.

F. For purposes of this section:
			&#8220;Family or household member&#8221; has the same meaning as provided in
&#xA7; 16.1-228.

HISTORY: 1992, c. 888; 1994, cc. 360, 521, 739; 1995, c. 824; 1996, cc. 540,
866; 1998, c. 570; 2001, c. 197; 2002, c. 377; 2013, c. 759; 2016, cc. 545, 696,
745; 2022, c. 276.