Invasion of Privacy

WHAT IS INVASION OF PRIVACY:

IC 35-46-1-15.1 states, that a person charged with this offense is alleged to have violated a protective order, restraining order, or no contact order. These charges often arise after a no contact order is issued following a domestic dispute, during a pending divorce or custody fight, or after an alleged battery or workplace termination.

DEFENDING AN INVASION OF PRIVACY CASE:

To convict someone of invasion of privacy, the State must first prove that the defendant knew about the no contact order. An ex parte protective order is one that is granted without the person being present at a hearing. If you are accused of violating an ex parte order, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were on notice of the protective order. If the protective order had not been formally served at the time of the alleged communication, you may have a viable defense.

Many invasion of privacy charges are based on alleged text messages or e-mails being sent to the protected party. Other charges may result after a chance encounter where the accused person has no intention of violating the order. Our criminal defense attorneys will aggressively defend you in these situations. Our attorneys will evaluate what evidence exists that proves any violation of the protective order.

INVASION OF PRIVACY PENALTIES:

For any person who has committed an invasion of privacy could be possibly looking at a Class A Misdemeanor.  It is the most serious kind of misdemeanor that, under Ind. Code § 35-50-3-2, is punishable by no more than a year in prison and a fine not exceeding $5,000. However, if a person has a prior unrelated conviction for invasion of privacy, the second and any subsequent offenses will be considered a Level 6 felony. Under Ind. Code § 35-50-2-7, a Level 6 felony carries a mandatory potential prison term of between six months and two and a half years and a fine not exceeding $10,000. A court retains the discretion to choose to convict of a Class A misdemeanor in these instances even if the person may be convicted of a Level 6 felony.

These charges are often used as leverage in pending criminal cases. For example, in any criminal case where there is a victim and a No Contact Order has been issued, if the prosecutor finds out that the defendant is making contact with protected parties, they will often threaten filing an Invasion of Privacy charge to try to get the defendant to stop. If they don’t, and Invasion of Privacy is filed, the prosecutor will also typically file for a revocation of bond under the original case, and the defendant will sit in jail with two pending cases instead of one.

GET LEGAL REPRESENTATION:

If you are charged with a crime, you need a criminal defense lawyer who will aggressively attack the evidence in your case.  We have assisted numerous clients in Kosciusko, Wabash and several other counties. Give us a call or use our contact us form for a consultation today!