Cyberstalking laws in Texas treat repeated, threatening online conduct as a felony. Under Texas Penal Code Section 42.072, a person who engages in a pattern of electronic behavior that would make a reasonable person fear bodily injury, death, or harm to their family, household, or property faces a third-degree felony punishable by two to ten years in prison. Related digital conduct, including electronic harassment, online impersonation, and covert GPS tracking, is criminalized separately, and prosecutors often stack these charges when the facts support it.
What Counts as Cyberstalking Under Texas Law
Section 42.072 is the main stalking statute, and it reaches online conduct through its definition of harassing or threatening behavior. Three elements have to line up: a course of conduct that happens more than once, directed at a specific person, that would cause a reasonable person in similar circumstances to feel afraid or to feel harassed, intimidated, or tormented.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 42.072 – Stalking
The statute covers two overlapping categories of conduct. One is threats: the person either commits harassment under Section 42.07 or does something they know, or reasonably should know, the target will take as a threat of bodily injury, death, or a crime against the target’s family, household members, dating partner, or property. The other is the victim’s actual reaction: the behavior causes the target or their loved ones to feel fear, harassment, intimidation, or torment.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 42.072 – Stalking
The reasonable-person standard is where many cases turn. Prosecutors don’t have to show the victim was uniquely sensitive. They have to show someone in the same situation would also have been afraid. Juries weigh frequency, escalation, and content. One angry message rarely clears the bar. A string of threatening direct messages across platforms over several weeks usually does.
Related Digital Offenses That Often Stack
Cyberstalking rarely stands alone. Texas has separate statutes for the specific digital tactics stalkers use, and a single pattern of behavior can produce several charges at once.
Electronic Harassment
Section 42.07 reaches a broader range of unwanted digital contact that doesn’t necessarily involve threats of physical harm. The focus is conduct meant to annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another person.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 42.07 – Harassment It covers repeated electronic communications meant to harass or alarm; repeated social media posts reasonably likely to cause emotional distress, unless they involve a matter of public concern; using a tracking app on someone’s phone or a tracking device on their property without consent; and obscene, intimidating, or threatening messages sent from disposable numbers provided by internet apps.
“Electronic communication” is defined broadly to include email, text messages, instant messages, social media platforms, internet-based communication tools, and data transmitted through wire, radio, or electromagnetic systems.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 42.07 – Harassment Section 42.072 explicitly points to Section 42.07, meaning repeated harassment can itself form the basis of a stalking charge when it fits a larger pattern.
Online Impersonation
Creating a fake social media profile in someone else’s name is its own crime under Section 33.07. The statute prohibits using another person’s name or identity to create a page on a social networking site, or to post messages through such a site, without consent and with intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 33.07 – Online Impersonation It also covers sending emails, texts, or instant messages using someone else’s identifying details to trick the recipient. A stalker who sets up a fake dating profile with the victim’s photos, or who posts inflammatory content under the victim’s name, can face impersonation and stalking charges at the same time.
Unlawful Tracking
Secretly placing a GPS tracker on someone’s vehicle is a Class A misdemeanor under Section 16.06. A tracking device is anything capable of emitting a signal that identifies, monitors, or records a person’s location.4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 16.06 – Unlawful Installation of Tracking Device Narrow defenses exist for owner consent, assisting a peace officer, or licensed investigators with written consent from the vehicle’s owner. The tracking provision in Section 42.07 extends past vehicles to cover tracking software installed on a personal device without consent.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 42.07 – Harassment Between the two statutes, both hardware trackers and phone-based surveillance apps are covered.
Penalties for Each Offense
Penalties shift sharply depending on which statute applies and whether the person has a prior conviction.
Stalking
A first stalking offense is a third-degree felony: two to ten years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony With a prior stalking conviction, the offense becomes a second-degree felony, with a prison range of two to twenty years and the same $10,000 maximum fine.6State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Prior convictions from other states, federal courts, or tribal jurisdictions with substantially similar elements trigger the same enhancement.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 42.072 – Stalking
Harassment
Electronic harassment is generally a Class B misdemeanor: up to 180 days in jail, a fine up to $2,000, or both.7State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.22 – Class B Misdemeanor It becomes a Class A misdemeanor if the person has a prior harassment conviction, or if the conduct involved repeated electronic communications or social media posts targeting a child under 18 with intent that the child commit suicide or seriously injure themselves.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 42.07 – Harassment A Class A misdemeanor carries up to one year in jail and a fine up to $4,000.8State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor
Online Impersonation
Creating a fake social media profile using another person’s identity is a third-degree felony. Sending deceptive messages using someone’s identifying information is a Class A misdemeanor, but it rises to a third-degree felony if the intent was to provoke an emergency response.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 33.07 – Online Impersonation
When Federal Cyberstalking Law Also Applies
Online conduct frequently crosses state lines, and federal law can apply alongside Texas charges. Under 18 U.S.C. Section 2261A, it’s a federal crime to use the mail, an interactive computer service, or any electronic communication system of interstate commerce to engage in a course of conduct that places someone in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or that causes or would reasonably be expected to cause substantial emotional distress.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261A – Stalking
Federal sentences escalate with harm. The baseline maximum is five years. Serious bodily injury raises it to ten years. Permanent disfigurement or life-threatening injury raises it to twenty. Death can bring life imprisonment. Committing the offense while violating a restraining or protective order carries a mandatory minimum of one year.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261 – Interstate Domestic Violence Federal prosecution is more likely when the victim lives in another state, the stalker uses anonymous tools to evade local police, or the conduct is severe enough to draw FBI attention. State and federal charges can both proceed on the same conduct, because state and federal governments are separate sovereigns for double jeopardy purposes.
What Victims Can Do
Apply for a Protective Order
Victims of stalking under Section 42.072 can apply for a protective order under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 7B. The victim, a parent or guardian of a minor victim, or a prosecutor acting on the victim’s behalf can file.11Texas District and County Attorneys Association. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 7B – Protective Orders A judge can issue a temporary ex parte order without the respondent present, which provides immediate protection while the case proceeds to a full hearing.12Texas State Law Library. Types of Protective Orders Orders can prohibit contact, bar the respondent from coming within a set distance, and keep them away from the victim’s home or workplace. Violating a protective order is a separate criminal offense.
Sue for Damages
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 85 creates a civil cause of action for stalking. Section 85.002 states that “a defendant is liable . . . to a claimant for damages arising from stalking of the claimant by the defendant.”13State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 85.002 – Liability A victim can seek compensation for counseling, lost wages, relocation costs, and other financial harm. The civil case is independent of any criminal prosecution, and the civil burden of proof is preponderance of the evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt, so a victim can sometimes recover damages even without a criminal conviction. In federal cases, courts may also order restitution for lost income, medical expenses, counseling, and property damage tied to the offense.14U.S. Department of Justice. Restitution Process
Preserve Evidence and Report
Digital evidence is easy to alter and easy to delete, so preserving it credibly is the most important early step. Take unedited screenshots of every threatening or harassing message, post, or email, with the date, time, and sender’s username, email address, or phone number visible. Don’t crop. If the platform allows a full download of your message history, use it.
Keep a written log of each incident: date, time, platform, and a short description. That timeline is what police and judges rely on to decide whether the conduct forms a “pattern” under Section 42.072. Save voicemails, call logs, and records of blocked numbers. Note every username connected to anonymous accounts and anything that might tie them to a specific person.
Reports can be filed at a local police station, and many Texas jurisdictions accept online reports with digital evidence uploads. Once a case number is assigned, use it on all later communications with law enforcement. For a protective order, bring printed copies of your evidence to the District Clerk’s office along with the completed application. Organized documentation moves everything faster.