Woman awaits outcome of stalking legislation
Marlboro resident has been target of stalker for a decade
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO - While state legislators enjoyed their summer vacation, one Marlboro woman waited anxiously for the Legislature to reconvene and to continue debating a proposed law that would change the definition of stalking and toughen the penalties for individuals who are found guilty of committing that crime.

In August, Greater Media Newspapers introduced readers to a woman from Marlboro who has been living at the hands of a stalker for 10 years. The newspaper is withholding the woman's name to protect her privacy.

Since the article about the woman was published, the twisted tale of her stalker's activities has continued.

In an effort to help people who find themselves in this type of situation, Assemblyman Michael Panter (D-Monmouth and Mercer) and Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-Mercer and Middlesex) acted as the primary sponsors of a bill that would amend the state's current stalking laws.

"Stalking is a serious crime that can damage a person's life and leave lasting scars. We must do more to protect people from unwanted, unrelenting and unnerving attention," Greenstein said in a prepared release.

The bill was introduced in theAssembly on June 18 and referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee. With a lack of Judiciary Committee meetings remaining in the year after the Assembly reconvened in November, the legislation (A-4354) was transferred to the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee and was heard on Dec. 10.

After listening to the Marlboro woman describe how she has been stalked by a man for 10 years and reading a letter written by Manalapan Police Chief Stuart Brown (a friend of the woman), the members of the Law and Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to release the bill to the full Assembly.

In a telephone interview following the bill's release from committee, Panter said the bill has enough support in the Assembly that he is confident it will pass. He had hopes the bill would be voted on Dec. 13, but it did not make the day's agenda. As of press time it was not known when the bill would be voted on in the Assembly.

With support also needed in the Senate in order to move the legislation, the Marlboro woman said she received a suggestion fromGreenstein to seek out the help of Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex).

The woman said she was overjoyed when she was informed that Buono had decided to back the legislation in the Senate. The bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate on Jan. 3.

"It's the best Christmas present I could ask for," the woman said.

The legislation under consideration states that upon conviction for the crime of third-degree stalking, a stalker could receive jail time of up to five years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines.

The Marlboro woman said January is National Stalking Awareness Month and she believes that would be a fitting time for Gov. Jon Corzine to sign the bill into law if it passes the Assembly and Senate.

The present session of the Legislature will end Jan. 8, and the bill's backers are hoping to have the law enacted by that date. Panter will be leaving the Assembly at that time.

The woman updated a reporter as to what the stalker has done to her since the initial article about her situation was published.

On the night after the article's publication, the woman discovered that her vehicle had a flat tire. She found this odd as only a few days earlier she had new tires put on her car.When a tow truck responded to assist her, the serviceman found a screw in the flat tire.

She recalled the serviceman making a remark about how perfectly the screw had been placed in the tire, in between the tire treads. She said he had to use a screwdriver to remove the screw. She said the serviceman stated that he believed the screw had been deliberately placed in the tire because driving over a screw would not have placed it that perfectly.

Repetitive telephone calls from the stalker also continue, the woman said, although these differ from those that began her nightmare. Over the last few months the phone calls have come fromindividuals speaking Spanish. With a name and number appearing on her caller identification unit, the woman said she stillmust answer the call in order to have it traced.

On one night of constant calls, the woman answered the phone and heard a man trying to engage her in a conversation, but she remained silent on the line. Upset with her silence, the man threatened her, according to the victim's testimony.

"This call was traced to another home owned by a Spanish-speaking individual who rents his phone out for $5 or $10 per call," the woman explained, adding that the phone rental leads to a constant "not me" type of response from the phone's owner.

"I need that law (A-4354) in place to impose a threat to the stalker's future, the threat of jail time, instead of the current stalking law, which is merely a slap on the wrist and currently permits him to threaten me. We need this law that would allow the police to quickly launch an investigation and prosecute before victims are irreparably harmed and evidence is destroyed," the woman said in her testimony before the members of the Law and Public Safety Committee.

UnderA-4354, a person would be guilty of third-degree stalking if he or she purposefully or knowingly engages in behavior that causes the victim to fear for his or her safety or suffer severe emotional distress. The third-degree crime of stalking would carry penalties of up to $15,000 in fines and five years in prison.

In addition to the above penalties, if a person stalks in violation of an existing court order prohibiting that behavior, repeats instances of stalking the same victim, stalks while serving a term of imprisonment or on parole or probation and stalks a victimwho is aminor, the stalker would be subject to a mandatory minimum term of sixmonths' imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

This legislation would also broaden the definition of "course of conduct" to include harassment by means other than personal contact and contact by phone.