State Assembly gives final passage to bill to close loopholes in stalking law

ALBANY — State lawmakers say they took a big step Thursday to close loopholes in New York’s stalking laws, which currently allow suspects to avoid prosecution and continue harassing victims.

The state Assembly, by a vote of 140-0, gave final passage to a bill called the "Ceasing Repeated, Extremely Egregious, and Predatory (CREEP) Behavior Act." The State Senate unanimously approved it earlier this year.

The bill, if signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, would allow courts to issue orders of protection for victims even if they don’t have a familial or intimate relationship with the person stalking them, a provision required under existing law.

That requirement creates gaps in the law that were exposed in a Newsday report about a man who was allowed to continue stalking and harassing Melanie Smith, a Suffolk County nurse, with law enforcement apparently unable to take action. The alleged harassment began after she listed an iPhone for sale on Facebook Marketplace — and went on to last three years.

Smith's alleged stalker, Michal Pacek, 47, of New Jersey, was arrested two weeks ago and arraigned on new charges. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and other experts said the long-running case exposed problems with the current laws, including, for instance, allowing a suspect to evade an order of protection because he had never met the victim in person.

Pacek has pleaded not guilty to an array of charges.

The bill won approval in Albany just in time — lawmakers are set to adjourn for the year on Friday.

"Let us be clear, stalking today does not only happen in person," Assemb. Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas (D-Jackson Heights) said when the Assembly voted Thursday. "It happens online, through cyber stalking, deepfakes, location tracking, harassment across social media and the spread of intimate images. Our laws must catch up to the realities of the digital age."

Though the legislation was proposed last year and sparked by cases around the state, some lawmakers said Newsday coverage of the Pacek case helped focus attention on the issue.

"Newsday’s intense focus on the dangers of stalking resulted in heightened legislative attention," said Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove).

"We have a mental health crisis in our state and there was a terrible case on Long Island that was just publicized in Newsday," Assemb. Keith Brown (R-Northport) said when discussing the bill during the vote. "A woman, very simply, posted something on Marketplace and she’d been stalked tremendously by an individual that needed help."

Gonzalez-Rojas said the bill, if enacted, would allow New York to join 43 other states that enable a person to pursue an order of protection through a civil, not criminal or family, court.

Currently, a victim’s only options are to "call police or pursue a criminal process," she said Thursday.

"This bill offers something deeply important: a civil pathway to safety," Gonzalez-Rojas said. "It gives survivors control and access to an order of protection without forcing them into a criminal legal system that they may not trust, may not feel safe engaging with or simply do not want to rely upon."

Not everyone agrees.

The Legal Aid Society, which represents people who can’t afford an attorney, has called the legislation unnecessary and said the onus should be on police to arrest individuals who violate stalking laws. The society previously told Newsday that a major question in the Pacek case is "why didn't the police take action" sooner.

Hochul, who will have until Dec. 31 to sign or veto the bill, didn’t immediately comment after the Assembly vote. 

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy