Harassment and Stalking
Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 53a-181d and 53a-183 — a course of conduct is two or more acts, online ones included
Harassment in the second degree, a class C misdemeanor, is communicating with someone by mail, email, text, social media or any other means, or calling them whether or not a conversation follows, with intent to harass, terrorize or alarm, for no legitimate purpose, in a manner likely to cause terror, intimidation or alarm. Threatening to kill or injure someone in writing or by phone is harassment in the first degree, a class D felony, for a person with the earlier felony convictions the section lists.
Who handles this in Connecticut: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Connecticut directory.
Stalking in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor, is knowingly engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their or a third person's physical safety, to suffer emotional distress, or to fear injury to or the death of their animal.
- A course of conduct is two or more acts, directly, indirectly or through a third party, by any means including electronic or social media: following, lying in wait, monitoring, surveilling, threatening, harassing, communicating, sending unwanted gifts, or interfering with property.
- Disclosing a person's identifying information by electronic communication, without consent and to harass or alarm, in a way that would make a reasonable person fear for their safety, is stalking too.
- So is repeatedly contacting a person's workplace after being clearly told to stop, when it would make a reasonable person fear for their job, unless it is constitutionally protected activity.
| Degree | What makes it that degree | Class |
|---|---|---|
| DegreeThird | What makes it that degreeRecklessly causing fear or emotional distress by wilfully and repeatedly following or lying in wait | ClassClass B misdemeanor |
| DegreeSecond | What makes it that degreeThe course of conduct above | ClassClass A misdemeanor |
| DegreeFirst | What makes it that degreeSecond degree with a prior conviction for it, in violation of a court order, or since 1 October 2026 by someone 22 or older against someone under 16 | ClassClass D felony |
Sources for this section (5)
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-183 — Harassment in the second degree: Class C misdemeanor
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-182b — Harassment in the first degree: Class D felony
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-181d — Stalking in the second degree: Class A misdemeanor
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-181c — Stalking in the first degree: Class D felony
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-181e — Stalking in the third degree: Class B misdemeanor
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Connecticut attorney.