Putting a GPS tracker on someone else’s car is a crime in Georgia, and watching or following a person can be stalking even if nothing is ever said or threatened.
Tracking a Vehicle
OCGA 16-11-62 makes it unlawful to place a global positioning system monitoring device on the motor vehicle of another person without that person’s consent or a court order. That is a separate offense from stalking, and no protective order need be in place.
Surveillance as Stalking
OCGA 16-5-90(a)(1) reaches a person who “follows, places under surveillance, or contacts another person at or about a place or places without the consent of the other person for the purpose of harassing and intimidating the other person.” “Harassing and intimidating” means “a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person which causes emotional distress by placing such person in reasonable fear for such person’s safety … by establishing a pattern of harassing and intimidating behavior, and which serves no legitimate purpose.” The statute adds that it “shall not be construed to require that an overt threat of death or bodily injury has been made.”
For example, in Anderson v. Mergenhagen, 283 Ga. App. 546 (2007), a man followed a woman by car on at least fifteen occasions over two years, photographing her through his window and waiting outside her subdivision gate. He never touched or threatened her. The stalking claim went to a bench trial on his intent, and the Court of Appeals revived her separate invasion of privacy claim.
The Order You Can Ask For
OCGA 16-5-94 authorizes a protective order for stalking, proved by a preponderance of the evidence. In Owen v. Watts, 307 Ga. App. 493 (2010), the Court of Appeals affirmed an order enjoining the respondent from “electronically or otherwise surveilling, investigating, or interfering with” the petitioner.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!