Harassment and Stalking Investigations
Harassment
The provision envisaged and punished by article 660 of the Criminal Code provides that "Anyone who harasses or disturbs someone in a public place or place open to the public, or by telephone, for petulance or for other blameworthy reason, is punished with arrest up to six months or with a fine of up to € 516 ".
Unfortunately, in recent years there has been a steady development of the crime in question, especially carried out via the telephone (via phone calls or text messages). A circumstance on which, first of all, it is necessary to reflect is given by the fact that often this type of crime is analyzed on the basis of the victim's complaint, which represents the only testimony on which the judge finds himself basing the reasons for a sentence (of conviction or acquittal).
On this point, the well-established jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Cassation must be taken into consideration by virtue of which it is held that the testimony of the injured person, while not subject to the hermeneutic canons referred to in Article 192.3 of the Criminal Procedure Code, must be subject of a particular critical examination, since it comes from a subject with interests antagonistic to those of the accused. This is especially the case if the injured party has appeared as a civil party in the criminal trial and therefore holds a significant interest, including economic ones, in the outcome of the trial.
The testimony of the injured person is usually held in little consideration per se (in order to evaluate its coherence and its intrinsic logic), also and above all, in the light of other testimonies that can confirm what is represented.
For this purpose, it is useful to make use of evidence provided by the investigative agency Luca D'Agostini Investigazioni, evidence valid in court and confirmed as a test by Dr. Luca Leonardo D'Agostini, owner of the detective agency. The proof thus provided would become decisive for asserting and / or defending one's rights in court.
For the purposes of configuring the offense referred to in Article 660 of the Criminal Code, the criminally relevant behavior must be "petulant", or behavior dictated by an attitude of excessive insistence, and therefore annoying, arrogant intrusiveness and continuous and pressing interference in the other's sphere of peace and freedom. To this end, therefore, the activities of the investigative agency Luca D'Agostini Investigazioni will be directed to collect all these characteristic elements.
Stalking
Unfortunately, as with the crime of harassment, the crime of stalking is also increasingly topical.
The term stalking is an English term imported into the Italian legal system and contemplated in the penal code in art. 612 bis. The crime of stalking was introduced into the Italian legal system with the legislative decree n ° 11 of 2009, then converted into law n ° 38/2009.
The art. 612 bis of the Criminal Code states the following: "Unless the fact constitutes a more serious crime, anyone who, with repeated conduct, threatens or harasses someone in such a way as to cause a persistent and serious state of anxiety or fear or to generate a well-founded fear for the safety of oneself or of a close relative or of a person linked to the same by an emotional relationship or by forcing the same to alter their habits of life.
The penalty is increased if the offense is committed by the spouse, even separated or divorced, or by a person who is or has been linked by an emotional relationship to the offended person or if the offense is committed through IT or telematic tools.
The penalty is increased by up to half if the offense is committed to the detriment of a minor, a pregnant woman or a person with disabilities referred to in article 3 of law no. 104, or with weapons or by a misrepresented person.
The crime is punished upon complaint by the injured party. The deadline for filing a lawsuit is six months. The remission of the complaint can only be procedural. The complaint is in any case irrevocable if the fact was committed through repeated threats in the manner referred to in Article 612, second paragraph. However, one proceeds ex officio if the offense is committed against a minor or a person with disabilities referred to in article 3 of law no. 104, as well as when the fact is connected with another crime for which one must proceed ex officio ".
As can be clearly seen to configure this crime, there must be repeated conduct, repeated, constant over time and such conduct must have as its object threats and violence by a person defined as a "stalker" against a specific victim and this conduct must cause in the same a continuous state of anxiety and fear; a constant fear of himself or of a person close to him; alteration of one's state of life.
It often happens that people living in a condominium who complain of harassing, hostile and persecutory behavior by other condominiums turn to the investigation agency Luca D'Agostini Investigazioni. Also in this case the crime of stalking is configured. In fact, at the base of any form of stalking there is harassing and persecutory behavior which generates psychophysical damage in the victim. In the specific case, we can speak of "condominium stalking", that is, that type of illicit behavior (threats, vandalism, repeated and continuous harassment over time) carried out by a condominium towards the other roommates or a person towards the their neighborhood so as to generate in them a serious and persistent state of anxiety, frustration and fear for themselves or their families and forcing them to change their habits of life.
This type of crime envisaged by art. 612 bis of the Criminal Code was also extended to the condominium world with the famous first sentence of the Supreme Court of Cassation, number 20895 of 25 May 2011, which was followed by the most recent sentence, number 26878/2016.
Of fundamental importance when you are a victim of the criminal offense of stalking is to file a complaint as soon as possible with the competent judicial authorities. For the crime of stalking, the law provides for imprisonment from 6 months to 4 years, with possible aggravating circumstances such as the fact that the stalker has a connection with the victim (typically a spouse or former spouse), or if the crime is committed to the detriment of a minor. Even in this case, however, the evidence to be presented at the same time as the complaint is fundamental, otherwise what is stated by the person making the complaint may represent the only testimony on which the Judge finds himself basing the reasons for a sentence (conviction or acquittal). For this reason, to give strength and consistency to a report for the crime of stalking, immediately contact Luca D'Agostini Investigazioni, an agency specialized in this type of investigation and finding evidence.