From the NPR page:
Carla Franklin was cyberstalked and bullied for years by a man she briefly dated. She has now become an advocate and expert for online harassment. Host Michel Martin talks with Franklin about her experience and cyberstalking laws.
www.npr.org/2012/12/03/166402533/busting-a-cyberstalker
“He was constantly Googling me, and emailing me… at the time, I was dating other people. He was certainly not my boyfriend; I want to be clear.”
“[Y]ou go back to your precinct, and you make them take a police report, and then you make a detective do the investigative work. And that’s what I did. And it took that level of persistence to get someone at a very – you know, like local level, to pay attention.”
“The harassment stopped once he was served by the NYPD, believe it or not… the problem with crimes like this – like stalking and harassment – is that, you know, people who dedicate this much energy to stalking and harassing you, usually are dangerous; and it’s nothing to be played with.”
Carla’s website is CarlaFranklin.com; she outlines some very good tips there, among them are:
- Trust your instincts when you feel someone is being abusive and obsessive
- If things escalate… create a timeline and paper trail
- File a police report… it is your RIGHT!
- Beware of conversations with mutual friends; Stalkers and harassers generally use them to obtain information about you
- Hire a lawyer, but only one that a) is a litigator and b) specialized in domestic violence and orders of protection
