NY- The Monica Crowley stalking case is prompting lawmakers to crack down on creeps who use computers and other high-tech gadgets to harass their terrified victims.
After learning that the man who tormented the TV and radio commentator faces only a year in jail, Assemblyman David Townsend and Assembly GOP leader Jim Tedisco were outraged enough to start campaigning for a tough new "Monica's Law."
"Providing heightened penalties for stalkers who misuse technology to terrorize their victims sends a clear message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated," reads the bill Townsend (R-Oneida) drafted.
In the Crowley case, testimony last week revealed that homeless artist Ronald Martin, 41, sent nearly 500 bizarre e-mails to the MSNBC and WABC radio host in less than a year and followed her around town.
Investigators also discovered that he accessed Internet sites containing Crowley's name at least 9,000 times and had created a cybershrine to her on his laptop.
But because stalking is a misdemeanor, the maximum sentence is only one year, and most stalkers don't do any jail time. Statistics from the Division of Criminal Justice Services show that, of 208 suspects arrested for stalking in the city in 2005, only 73 were convicted - and just 15 were put behind bars.
That angers Tedisco (R-Schenectady), who is backing Monica's Law.
"This woman has a right to live her life free from fear," he said. "She has every right to be left alone. She had every right to tell this creep to scram, and when he didn't comply, the law needs to come down hard."
Under the proposed law, a predator who uses a computer, caller ID or other technology to stalk someone could go to prison for up to four years.
New York's stalking law was updated in 1999, but hasn't kept pace with advances in technology that allow weirdos to track their targets with global positioning devices and the Internet, Tedisco said.
Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn), the powerful chairman of the Assembly Codes Committee, has not committed to advancing the bill. "If it is something we need to do, I will be glad to take a look at it," he said. "It's not been a front-burner issue [since 1999], but we'll see if this merits a change in the law."
