NRS § 200.575 – Nevada “Stalking” Laws

NRS § 200.575 is the Nevada law that prohibits stalking. This is defined as willful conduct that causes another person reasonably to feel frightened or intimidated. Classic examples are following someone on the street or phoning someone repeatedly against the person’s wishes. The statute states:

A person who, without lawful authority, willfully or maliciously engages in a course of conduct directed towards a victim that would cause a reasonable person under similar circumstances to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, harassed or fearful for his or her immediate safety or the immediate safety of a family or household member, and that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, harassed or fearful for his or her immediate safety or the immediate safety of a family or household member, commits the crime of stalking.

Aggravated stalking is stalking that includes threatening the victim with death or substantial bodily harm (NRS 0.060).

Penalties

A first-time stalking charge under NRS 200.575 where the victim is at least 16 is typically a misdemeanor in Nevada, carrying:

• Up to 6 months in jail, and/or
• Up to $1,000 in fines

Aggravated stalking is prosecuted as a category B felony, carrying:

• 2 – 15 years in Nevada State Prison, and
• up to $5,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion)

Though the D.A. may be willing to agree to a plea bargain where the charge gets reduced to a lesser offense or even a dismissal.

Defenses

Stalking charges under NRS 200.575 should be dismissed if either:

• The defendant was falsely accused,
• The defendant was wrongly identified as the stalker;
• The defendant’s behavior did not qualify as stalking; and/or
• The defendant’s behavior was protected by the First Amendment

In aggravated stalking cases, the D.A. should reduce the charge to misdemeanor stalking if the defense attorney can show no threats were made.

On this page our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss:

• 1. The legal definition of stalking in Nevada under NRS 200.575
  • 1.1. Aggravated stalking
  • 1.2. Cyber-stalking
• 2. Penalties for stalking in Nevada under NRS 200.575
• 3. Restraining orders in stalking cases
• 4. Losing firearm rights
• 5. Defenses
• 6. Record seals
• 7. Immigration consequences
• 8. Stalking versus harassment
• 9. Related offenses
• Additional resources

1. The legal definition of stalking in Nevada under NRS 200.575

Stalking is when a person’s deliberate actions cause another person to reasonably feel frightened, terrorized, or fearful for the immediate safety of his/her family or housemates.

Stalking is usually not just one event but rather a pattern or course of conduct over time that makes the victim feel scared.

Examples of stalking behavior may include:

• following someone on the street or on the road for several blocks,
• loitering outside a person’s home or office,
• phoning someone frequently or leaving several voicemails,
• repeatedly showing up unexpectedly,
• vandalizing/defacing a person’s property,
• communicating with the person’s colleagues, family, and friends for no valid reason, or
• other unwanted and uninvited communications

Even seemingly harmless gestures such as sending gifts or leaving flowers at one’s front door can qualify as stalking if it is done excessively or if the victim told the giver to stay away.

Note that defendants may be convicted of stalking even if they did not mean to cause fear. What matters is that the victim reasonably construed the defendant’s conduct as terrorizing or harassing.¹

1.1. Aggravated stalking definition in Nevada

Aggravated stalking occurs when an alleged stalker intentionally threatens the victim with death or substantial bodily harm. The threat does not need to be verbal. It can be conveyed through body language or other actions that make the victim fear for his/her safety. Examples of aggravated stalking include:

• following someone on the street or on the road while visibly brandishing a gun
• phoning someone frequently to say, “You’re dead the next time I see you”
• repeatedly showing up unexpectedly and threatening to beat up the victim

In short, aggravated stalking is stalking plus a threat to do major physical harm to the victim.²

1.2. Cyber-stalking definition in Nevada

Cyber-stalking has three elements:

1. The defendant commits the crime of stalking;
2. The stalking is done using the internet, email, text-messaging, or similar means of communication; and
3. The defendant used these electronic means to publish or distribute information in a manner that substantially increases the risk of harm or violence to the victim.³

Currently, there is no Nevada case law that illustrates what exactly cyber-stalking is. From the wording of the statute, it seems that sending someone a barrage of annoying text messages or social media messages would not rise from the level of stalking to cyber-stalking. This is because receiving DMs alone should not “substantially increase the risk of harm or violence” to the victim.

The following hypothetical situations may qualify as cyber-stalking:

• posting Craigslist messages with the victim’s address and inviting people to come over for rough sex, and sending the victim links to those Craigslist ads
• posting untrue, incendiary information about the victim on Facebook meant to incite people to seek him/her out and harass him/her, and sending the victim links to those Facebook posts
• emailing the victim’s abusive ex-boyfriend the victim’s current address, and forwarding that email to the victim

2. Penalties for stalking in Nevada under NRS 200.575

The punishment for stalking in Nevada turns on the person’s criminal history, whether it involved the internet, and if the defendant made a serious threat (aggravated stalking):⁴

Nevada stalking offense	Penalties
First offense	When the victim is at least 16, a misdemeanor: Up to 6 months in jail, and/or Up to $1,000 in fines When the victim is under 16, and the defendant is at least 5 years older, a gross misdemeanor: Up to 364 days in jail, and/or Up to $2,000 in fines The defendant may be placed on probation for up to 3 years instead of incarceration.
Second offense	When the victim is at least 16, a gross misdemeanor: Up to 364 days in jail, and/or Up to $2,000 in fines The defendant may be placed on probation for up to 3 years instead of incarceration. When the victim is under 16, and the defendant is at least 5 years older, a category C felony: 2 – 5 years in prison, and up to $5,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion) The defendant may be placed on probation for up to 5 years instead of incarceration.
Subsequent offense	When the victim is at least 16, a category C felony: 1 – 5 years in prison, and up to $5,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion) The defendant may be placed on probation for up to 5 years instead of incarceration. When the victim is under 16, and the defendant is at least 5 years older, a category B felony: 2 – 15 years in prison, and up to $5,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion) The defendant may be placed on probation for up to 5 years instead of incarceration.
Cyberstalking	Category C felony 1 – 5 years in prison, and up to $10,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion) The defendant may be placed on probation for up to 5 years instead of incarceration.
Aggravated stalking	Category B felony 2 – 15 years in prison, and up to $5,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion) The defendant may be placed on probation for up to 5 years instead of incarceration.

The judge may also order psychological counseling and issue a protective order mandating that the suspect stay away from the victim. Scroll down to the next question for more information about restraining orders.

2.1. Plea bargains

Depending on the case, the D.A. may agree to reduce a first-time stalking charge to a lesser offense such as disorderly conduct in Nevada (CCO 12.33.010). They are both misdemeanors with the same penalties, but disorderly conduct carries less of a social stigma than stalking.⁵

3. Restraining orders in stalking cases

A judge may issue a restraining order depending on the circumstances of the case. Restraining orders require the defendant (“adverse party”) to stay away from the victim for a predetermined length of time. There are two types of restraining orders:

• a temporary protective order (TPO), which typically last 45 days, and
• an extended protective order (EPO), which may last a full year

Judges may issue TPOs without giving defendants an opportunity to defend themselves. Though defendants are entitled to a court hearing before a judge can convert a TPO to an EPO.

Courts hold defendants in contempt for defying the terms of restraining orders. The penalties for intentionally violating a restraining order turn on whether it is a TPO or EPO.⁶

Nevada Retraining Order violation	Penalties for violating the restraining order
Temporary protective order (TPO)	Gross misdemeanor: Up to 364 days in jail, and/or Up to $2,000 in fines
Extended protective order (EPO)	Category C felony 1 – 5 years in prison, and up to $10,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion)

In Clark County, Family Court is responsible for issuing restraining orders in cases where the two parties are domestically related. This includes family members, (ex)spouses, (ex)partners, or roommates.

Meanwhile, Clark County’s Justice Courts issue restraining orders in cases involving non-domestic stalking cases, such as between neighbors, strangers, former friends, or co-workers.

4. Losing firearm rights

People may lose their guns in Nevada if the following three conditions are true:

1. The defendant gets convicted of stalking;
2. The defendant and victim are family, roommates, or (ex)partners; and
3. The victim has an ongoing, reasonable fear of physical harm.

In this situation, the judge will order the defendant to permanently surrender his/her firearms and forbid him/her from possessing any more. Defendants found to possess a gun in violation of this order face prosecution for a category B felony, carrying:

• 1 to 6 years in prison, and
• up to $5,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion)⁷

5. Defenses

Which strategy would be most effective in any one Nevada stalking case turns wholly on the circumstances. The following are some typical defenses a defense attorney may explore using:

1. False accusations
2. Misidentification
3. Lack of stalking
4. First Amendment protections
5. There was no threat of death or severe bodily harm (in aggravated stalking cases)

5.1. The defendant was falsely accused

When two people have an argument, sometimes one person gets so angry or vengeful that he/she accuses the other of stalking just to stir up trouble.

Example: Jill kicks her roommate Nancy out when Nancy fails to pay rent. In order to get back at Jill, Nancy calls the police and falsely claims that Jill has been following her and calling her incessantly in order to intimidate Nancy into paying. If Jill gets arrested, her defense attorney would try to show that there is no evidence of Jill following or calling Nancy. The defense attorney also produces an angry text-message where Nancy told Jill that Nancy would ruin her life for making her homeless. The prosecutor realizes that Nancy probably exaggerated the truth and dismisses the charge.

Prosecutors know from experience that many of the stalking cases they get are the products of false allegations. As long as the prosecutor has insufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the charge should be dismissed.

Note that Nancy in the above example should be prosecuted for filing a false police report.

5.2. The defendant was misidentified

Sometimes victims wrongly presume they know the identity of the person(s) stalking them.

Example: Haley recently broke up with John. The following week, she notices a shadowy figure in a long jacket and hat following her home at night and loitering on the street when she goes inside. Haley presumes it is John since he took the breakup badly, so she reports him. After John gets arrested, his defense attorney obtains surveillance video from various locations on Haley’s route home. The video shows that the shadowy figure is not John but someone else. When the D.A. sees the footage, all charges get dropped.

Other types of evidence that may come into play in these cases of mistaken identity include photographs, audio recordings, handwriting samples, and DNA samples.

5.3. The behavior was not stalking

Behavior that may seem like stalking to the alleged victim may turn out to fall short of stalking.

Example: Alice and Bill are co-workers. One day while Bill is out sick, Alice goes on his computer to find a file. While searching, she finds a protected file labeled “journal.” Curious, she manages to hack into the file. But she is horrified to read disturbing descriptions of violent things Bill wants to do to Alice. Alice reports Bill, and he gets arrested for aggravated stalking. But when the prosecutor learns that Alice broke into Bill’s file without his consent or knowledge, the case gets dismissed. Although the contents of the journal were disturbing, Bill did nothing intentional to make Alice aware of it. The fact he password-protected the file is further proof that it was meant to be kept private.

Even if a self-proclaimed stalking victim is genuinely terrified, the defendant committed no crime if he/she did not willfully engage in behavior that would intimidate a reasonable person. Alice knew that Bill’s password protected journal in the above example was meant only for him, and she brought her terror upon herself by snooping through what were meant to be private thoughts.

5.4. The behavior is protected by the First Amendment

Stalking does not comprise First Amendment activities.

Example: Ronny is a member of a casino dealer union that is picketing outside a casino in order to rally for higher wages. Whenever casino executives enter or leave the hotel, Ronny screams accusations at them. Even though Ronny’s actions of loitering by the front entrance and hurling harsh words intimidate the executives, the police at the rally do not arrest Ronny for stalking.

Ronny’s demonstration in the above example is protected by the First Amendment‘s guarantee of free speech and assembly. The First Amendment protects peaceful protests even when they may otherwise appear or sound like stalking.

Note that the First Amendment also protects professional reporters, photographers, and news-gatherers from stalking charges, such as when they phone a person for comment or hound a witness on the street. Journalists should not face prosecution as long as they are acting within the scope of their employment for a newspaper, periodical, radio, television station or other media outlet.

5.5. There was no threat of death or severe bodily harm

A felony charge of aggravated stalking can be reduced to misdemeanor stalking if the defense attorney can show that the defendant did not threaten the victim.

Example: Iris is upset at her ex-boss Rod for firing her. She sends him hundreds of emails and voicemails and letters pleading with him to rehire her. After she leaves a voicemail where she threatens to kill Rod if he does not hire her, Rod reports her to the police. The police arrest her for aggravated stalking because she threatened his life. But when the defense attorney listens to the voicemail, the attorney realizes that Rod misheard Iris’s words: She threatened to kill herself, not Rod, if he did not hire her. When the prosecutors hear the voicemail, they reduce the charges to misdemeanor stalking because no threat was made to hurt Rod.

Threatening to hurt oneself does not rise to the level of aggravated stalking. Rather, the victim must be the subject of the threat for aggravated charges to apply.

6. Record seals

The waiting period to pursue a criminal record seal in Nevada depends on the stalking charge:⁸

Nevada stalking offense	Record seal waiting time
Misdemeanor	2 years after the case ends
Gross misdemeanor	2 years after the case ends
Category C felony	5 years after the case ends
Category B felony	10 years after the case ends (assuming Nevada law considers it a “felony crime of violence. Otherwise, the waiting period is 5 years)
Dismissal (no conviction)	No waiting period

7. Immigration consequences

Stalking is a deportable offense under federal law.⁹ Therefore, any visa- or green card-holder who gets convicted of violating NRS 200.575 may be thrown out of the U.S.

Aliens facing stalking charges should retain counsel to try to get their case reduced to a non-removable crime.

8. Stalking versus harassment

Harassment (NRS 200.571) occurs when someone threatens to harm another person’s body, mental health, or property. By contrast, stalking is when someone acts in such a way that causes another person to feel frightened.

Example: James is obsessed with Whitney. He sends her an email threatening to kill her dog if she does not go out with him.¹⁰ The next day, James follows Whitney home from work by walking a few feet behind her, even when she tells him to get lost. In Nevada, James could face harassment charges for the threatening email and stalking charges for following her home so closely and against her express wishes.

Harassment and stalking are similar in the sense that the effect of both crimes is to intimidate the victim. And in many cases like in the above example, the same defendant faces prosecution for both offenses.

9. Related offenses

9.1. Nevada “peering” laws

Nevada’s “Peeping Tom” law (NRS 200.603) prohibits intentionally going on another’s property with the intent to spy through a window or other opening.¹¹

Nevada Peering offense	Penalties
Defendant has no recording device and no deadly weapon	Misdemeanor: Up to 6 months in jail, and/or Up to $1,000 in fines
Defendant has a recording device but no deadly weapon	Gross misdemeanor: Up to 364 days in jail, and/or Up to $2,000 in fines
Defendant has a deadly weapon	Category B felony: 1 – 6 years in prison, and up to $5,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion)

9.2. Nevada laws for “capturing image of another person’s private area”

Capturing the image of a private area (NRS 200.604) is when a person intentionally photographs or videotapes another person’s private parts without that person’s consent.¹²

Nevada “Capturing Image of Private Area” offense	Penalties
First offense	Gross misdemeanor: Up to 364 days in jail, and/or Up to $2,000 in fines
Subsequent offense	Category E felony: Probation and a suspended sentence, but the judge may impose 1 to 4 years in prison and possibly up to $5,000 in fines if the defendant has two or more prior felony convictions.

9.3. Nevada “battery domestic violence” laws

Battery domestic violence (NRS 200.485) occurs when people inflict unlawful physical force – such as punching or pushing – on their:

• family member,
• housemate,
• (ex)spouse, or
• (ex)partner

First- and second-time BDV offenses are misdemeanors as long as the incident involved no strangulation, deadly weapons or substantial bodily harm. Otherwise, BDV is prosecuted as a felony carrying potentially years in prison.¹³

9.4. Nevada “Sexual Harassment” laws

Sexual harassment happens when someone annoys or bullies someone in a sexual way. Depending on the nature of the harassment, sexual harassment may be prosecuted as either :

• peering,
• coercion under NRS 207.190,
• harassment,
• stalking,
• indecent exposure under NRS 201.220,
• open or gross lewdness under NRS 201.210,
• rape under NRS 200.366,
• extortion under NRS 205.320,
• breaching the peace (NRS 203.010),
• assault under NRS 200.471,
• battery under NRS 200.481, and/or
• as hate crimes under NRS 193.1675.

The punishment depends on the charge. Learn more about Nevada sex crimes.¹⁴

Additional resources

If you are a stalking victim, refer to the following:

• Stalking – Ways to get help provided by the Office on Violence against Women (DOJ).
• What is Stalking? – Overview by SPARC (Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center).
• Stalking – Information and ways to get help, provided by RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network).
• Stalking – List of organizations that can help victims compiled by Victim Connect Resource Center.
• Fast Facts: Preventing Stalking – Tips by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

---

Legal References