Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
What a Florida domestic violence court called “creepy” behavior on the part of a party accused of stalking a minor child turned out to be insufficient to support an injunction against stalking. In Santiago v. Leon, 3D19-0011 (Fla. 3d DCA January 2, 2020), the accused stalker appealed an order mandating that he stay away from the child of his former partner.
After the parties to the case broke up, the accused stalker sent messages to his ex-partner expressing his love for the ex-partner’s child who was born via a surrogate during the parties’ relationship. He was also accused of getting a tattoo of the child’s name, mailing the child packages, contacting the surrogate to get more information about the child, and posting images of the child on social media, among other behavior the ex-partner alleged constituted stalking. After two hearings, the trial court entered an injunction ordering the alleged stalker to stay away from the child.
On appeal, the appellate court considered each act alleged by the ex-partner and analyzed whether it fit the stalking statute. The Florida Statutes defines stalking as when "[a] person . . . willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses, or cyberstalks another person." The alleged stalking must also cause the victim substantial emotional distress. Noting that the ex-partner testified that the child (who was 18 months old at the time of the parties’ separation) was totally unaware of the alleged stalker’s behavior, the appellate court reversed the injunction after also finding none of the conduct alleged supported the stalking definition.
A Florida domestic violence injunction is a tool that can be used to prevent harassment or further abuse. In addition to taking immediate and appropriate measures to protect your safety, contact a Miami domestic violence lawyer to learn how an injunction may help you.