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Stalking

Stalking under NRS 200.575 starts as a misdemeanor but escalates quickly — a third offense, a victim under 16, or a threat of death or serious harm can push it to a Category B felony with up to 15 years in prison. These charges often arise from breakups, custody disputes, and situations where normal contact gets characterized as a pattern of harassment.

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NRS 200.575Nevada · Misdemeanor to Category B Felony

Stalking

NRS 200.575 prohibits maliciously engaging in a repeated course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes them to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or harassed. Penalties escalate with prior offenses, victim age, and the nature of the conduct. Aggravated stalking — involving a threat of death or serious harm — is a Category B felony on the first offense.

Statute

Stalking (NRS 200.575)

First offense

Misdemeanor

Aggravated stalking

Category B Felony — 2 to 15 years

Defense focus

Course of conduct, reasonableness of fear, protected activity, credibility

Key statutory language (abridged)

NRS 200.575 requires a course of conduct — two or more acts over time — directed at a person that causes reasonable fear. Penalties escalate from misdemeanor (first offense) to gross misdemeanor (second) to Category C felony (third or subsequent). Aggravated stalking involving a threat of death or substantial bodily harm is a Category B felony. Cyberstalking via internet, email, or text that significantly increases…

Nevada Legislature statute Harassment

How charges typically arise

Example fact patterns

Examples of factual situations prosecutors commonly rely on when filing charges. These are simplified summaries, details matter.

StalkingHow stalking charges come up

Following a breakup or separation

A large share of stalking charges arise after the end of a relationship. One party reports repeated contact — texts, calls, showing up at work or home — as a pattern of unwanted conduct. What looks like persistence to one person can be characterized as stalking by the other.

Custody and family disputes

Co-parents who frequently communicate, show up at schools or activities, or monitor a child's whereabouts can find themselves facing stalking allegations when the other party characterizes that conduct as harassing. The line between parental involvement and stalking is genuinely disputed in some of these cases.

Workplace situations

Repeated contact with a coworker, former coworker, or employer — whether in person, by phone, or electronically — can form the basis of a stalking charge when the other party reports it as unwanted and fear-inducing.

Online and digital stalking

Nevada specifically addresses stalking conducted via internet, email, or text messaging. Repeated unwanted contact through social media, tracking a person's online activity, or using digital means to monitor someone can all support a stalking charge — and is charged as a Category C felony, not a misdemeanor.

How to read this

These are common charging narratives, not determinations of guilt. Real cases turn on evidence quality, context, and credibility.

Defense playbook

Examples of defenses

Short, plain-English examples of defenses we look for. The right defense depends on the facts, the evidence, and how the case was built.

StalkingWhere the defense focuses

No course of conduct — isolated incidents

Stalking requires a course of conduct: two or more acts over time showing a continuous pattern directed at a specific person. A single incident, or a few unrelated contacts that don't form a pattern, doesn't meet the statutory definition. How the prosecution characterizes the conduct matters.

The fear wasn't reasonable or wasn't caused by the defendant

The statute requires that the conduct caused the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, or harassed. If the claimed fear is disproportionate to the conduct, inconsistent with the victim's own behavior, or unsupported by the evidence, the reasonableness element can be challenged.

Lawful activity — free speech, protected conduct

Nevada's stalking statute specifically excludes conduct protected by the First Amendment, labor activities, journalistic activities, and other lawful exercises. Contact made for legitimate reasons — parenting, work obligations, legal proceedings — is not stalking.

Consent or prior invitation

If the alleged victim previously welcomed or initiated contact, that history is relevant. A relationship where both parties were communicating until very recently looks different than ongoing contact the victim never invited.

How to use this

These are common defense themes, not legal advice for your case. The value is in comparing the allegations to the evidence and spotting what is missing, unclear, or contradicted.

Penalties overview

Potential penalties

A simplified overview of common penalty ranges. The real exposure depends on charge level, priors, enhancements, and how the case is filed.

StalkingHow the penalties escalate

First offense

Misdemeanor

Up to 6 months in jail and a fine up to $1,000.

Second offense

Gross Misdemeanor

Up to 364 days in jail and a fine up to $2,000.

Third or subsequent offense

Category C Felony

1 to 5 years in prison and a fine up to $5,000.

Aggravated stalking — threat of death or serious harm

Category B Felony

2 to 15 years in prison and a fine up to $5,000. Same penalty as repeat offenses involving victims under 16.

Cyberstalking — via internet, email, or text

Category C Felony

When stalking is conducted through digital means and significantly increases the harm or threat risk, it is charged as a Category C felony regardless of prior offense history.

Firearm prohibition

Mandatory if ongoing threat found

If the court finds an ongoing threat, the defendant is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms and must surrender any firearms. Violation is a Category B felony.

Important

Penalties can shift based on priors, alleged injury, and how the case is filed. A reliable range requires the exact charge, the complaint, and criminal history.

What counts as a "course of conduct"

Stalking requires more than one incident. The statute defines a "course of conduct" as two or more acts over a period of time, however short, that demonstrate a continuous purpose directed at a specific person.

That definition is intentionally broad. Two texts on the same day could theoretically qualify. Two phone calls a week apart could qualify. The question isn't just the number of contacts — it's whether the pattern shows continuous, directed intent toward the victim.

This is where the defense often focuses. If the contacts had different purposes, different contexts, or can't fairly be characterized as part of a pattern, that challenges the foundational element of the charge.

Aggravated stalking — when it becomes a felony

Aggravated stalking occurs when the defendant, in the course of the stalking conduct, makes a threat with the intent of causing the victim to reasonably fear death or substantial bodily harm. This single escalation — even on a first offense — converts a misdemeanor into a Category B felony carrying 2 to 15 years in prison.

Prosecutors frequently add aggravated stalking to cases where a single message, voicemail, or social media post contains language they characterize as threatening. Whether that language actually constitutes a threat under the legal standard — and whether the fear it caused was reasonable — is often the entire fight.

Cyberstalking under Nevada law

Nevada specifically addresses stalking conducted through electronic means. When stalking involves internet or network sites, email, or text messaging, and that use significantly increases the risk of harm or the level of the threat, the offense is elevated to a Category C felony — regardless of whether it's a first offense.

This provision catches a wide range of conduct: repeated unwanted direct messages, tracking someone through social media, posting about a person in ways designed to cause fear, and using technology to monitor or contact someone who has cut off communication.

Firearm restrictions after a stalking conviction

If a court finds that a stalking conviction involves an ongoing threat to the victim, the defendant is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms and must surrender any firearms they currently possess. This can happen at sentencing.

Violating a firearm prohibition order imposed under the stalking statute is itself a Category B felony, carrying 1 to 6 years in prison. If you own firearms and are facing a stalking charge, understanding this exposure early is important.

What to do if you've been charged

Stop all contact with the alleged victim immediately. Even if a protective order hasn't been issued, continued contact will be documented and used to support the state's case. If a protective order has been issued, any violation is a separate criminal offense.

Preserve your own records — messages, call logs, emails — that show the context of your contact and the nature of the relationship. Evidence that shows the alleged victim was also initiating contact, that the communications were benign, or that the allegations are inconsistent with the actual record can be critical.

Call 702-990-0190. Stalking charges that start as misdemeanors can escalate fast, and the earlier an attorney is reviewing the facts, the more options exist.

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