Pa. House Republicans focus on shortcomings of state stalking laws at Bucks County hearing

PERKASIE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A Pennsylvania House GOP Policy Committee hearing on Wednesday focused on how to strengthen state law to better protect victims of stalking.

“Many of our laws in this commonwealth do not effectually protect victims of stalking — especially victims where they have no connection to the stalker,” said Bucks County Republican State Rep. Shelby Labs.

“With the growth of social media and online search capabilities, many of our current laws do not account for the increased access stalkers have to information on someone they don't know.”

Lawmakers and county officials attended the discussion at Upper Bucks Technical School to identify the various forms of stalking and the legal blind spots that prevent law enforcement personnel from intervening.

District Attorney Jen Schorn testified at the hearing about a case out of Bedminster Township, where a woman was stalked by a stranger for years, but law enforcement couldn’t step in because of the wording of the current law.

The township’s recently retired police chief, Matt Phelan, said the stranger was around so often that the woman’s neighbors knew his license plate.

“It upset me greatly, when my inquiries led me to determine that stranger stalking — which, could be argued, is likely the most terrifying for the victim — cannot be deterred by any of the current protection orders in the commonwealth,” Phelan said.

Phelan says his department spent over 1,000 hours to build a case. A warrant was issued for the man’s arrest and, when he was finally arrested outside the woman’s home, police found a handgun, duct tape, binoculars and a box of condoms in his car.

“His intent wasn't to cause emotional distress. He had a far more deviant intent,” Schorn said. “His intent was to pursue her for his own sexual gratification — and, perhaps, worse, given what was ultimately found in his possession when he was arrested.”

Schorn says minor tweaks to the current law could allow police to step in to offer significant emotional relief to victims and prevent stalking from escalating to a more serious crime.

“The fact that they're limited for adults to former intimate partners or current intimate partners is a huge, huge concern and something that needs to be remedied,” Schorn said.