Indiana Code

Ind. Code § 35-45-10-5 (2026)

Criminal stalking

✓ current as of May 2026
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     Sec. 5. (a) A person who stalks another person commits stalking, a Level 6 felony.

     (b) The offense is a Level 5 felony if at least one (1) of the following applies:

(1) A person:

(A) stalks a victim; and

(B) makes an explicit or an implicit threat with the intent to place the victim in reasonable fear of:

(i) sexual battery (as defined in IC 35-42-4-8);

(ii) serious bodily injury; or

(iii) death.

(2) A protective order to prevent domestic or family violence, a no contact order, or other judicial order under any of the following statutes has been issued by the court to protect the same victim or victims from the person and the person has been given actual notice of the order:

(A) IC 31-15 and IC 34-26-5 or IC 31-1-11.5 before its repeal (dissolution of marriage and legal separation).

(B) IC 31-34, IC 31-37, or IC 31-6-4 before its repeal (delinquent children and children in need of services).

(C) IC 31-32 or IC 31-6-7 before its repeal (procedure in juvenile court).

(D) IC 34-26-5 or IC 34-26-2 and IC 34-4-5.1 before their repeal (protective order to prevent abuse).

(E) IC 34-26-6 (workplace violence restraining orders).

(3) The person's stalking of another person violates an order issued as a condition of pretrial release, including release on bail or personal recognizance, or pretrial diversion if the person has been given actual notice of the order.

(4) The person's stalking of another person violates a no contact order issued as a condition of probation if the person has been given actual notice of the order.

(5) The person's stalking of another person violates a protective order issued under IC 31-14-16-1 and IC 34-26-5 in a paternity action if the person has been given actual notice of the order.

(6) The person's stalking of another person violates an order issued in another state that is substantially similar to an order described in subdivisions (2) through (5) if the person has been given actual notice of the order.

(7) The person's stalking of another person violates an order that is substantially similar to an order described in subdivisions (2) through (5) and is issued by an Indian:

(A) tribe;

(B) band;

(C) pueblo;

(D) nation; or

(E) organized group or community, including an Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation as defined in or established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);

that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their special status as Indians if the person has been given actual notice of the order.

(8) A criminal complaint of stalking that concerns an act by the person against the same victim or victims is pending in a court and the person has been given actual notice of the complaint.

(9) The offense was committed or facilitated by the use of a tracking device.

     (c) The offense is a Level 4 felony if:

(1) the act or acts were committed while the person was armed with a deadly weapon; or

(2) the person has an unrelated conviction for an offense under this section against the same victim or victims.

As added by P.L.242-1993, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.225-1996, SEC.1; P.L.1-1997, SEC.150; P.L.1-1998, SEC.198; P.L.280-2001, SEC.52; P.L.133-2002, SEC.66; P.L.158-2013, SEC.541; P.L.172-2023, SEC.5.

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 55 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1997–2025 · leading case: VanHorn v. State, 889 N.E.2d 908 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).
VanHorn v. State, 889 N.E.2d 908 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 12× “"Domestic or family violence" includes stalking as defined in Indiana Code Section 35-45-10-5. Ind.Code § 31-9-2-42.”
Collier v. State, 846 N.E.2d 340 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 10× “[10] Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5. "`Stalk' means a knowing or an intentional course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another person that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened and that actually causes the…”
Eberle v. State, 942 N.E.2d 848 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 8× “[3] I.C. § 35-45-10-5. [4] Detective Rimstidt's efforts to locate "David Deckard" proved futile.”
Steven M. Sandleben v. State of Indiana, 29 N.E.3d 126 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5 (2002). We affirm. Issues [2] Sandleben presents three issues for our review, which we restate as: I.”
Nicholson v. State, 963 N.E.2d 1096 (Ind. 2012). · cites it 4× “” Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5(a) (2008). To stalk has been defined as “a knowing or an intentional course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another person that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened.”
Simms v. State, 791 N.E.2d 225 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 6× “STATEMENT OF THE CASE Appellant-Defendant, Michael Simms (Simms), appeals his conviction for stalking, a Class B felony, Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5. Affirmed. ISSUES Simms raises three issues on appeal, which we restate as follows: 1.”
Parkhurst v. Van Winkle, 786 N.E.2d 1159 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 3× “Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5. But the offense is a Class C felony if a person commits stalking against a victim, after a court has issued a protection order under Indiana Code Section 34-26-5 to protect that same victim from the person.”
Joslyn v. State, 942 N.E.2d 809 (Ind. 2011). · cites it 2× “Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5(b)(2) (2008). 3 . Ind.”
Peckinpaugh v. State, 743 N.E.2d 1238 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 4× “Ind.Code Ann. § 35-45-10-5 (West Supp. 2000).”
Landis v. State, 749 N.E.2d 1130 (Ind. 2001). · cites it 2× “Ind.Code§ 35-45-10-5 (1993). 2 . Now Ind.”
Smith v. State, 802 N.E.2d 948 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 2× “Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5. 2 . Ind.Code § 35-45-2-1.”
Smith v. State, 839 N.E.2d 780 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “2 , Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5. 3 . We must address the trial court's merger of the two charges here, which we find to be improper.”
— Ind. Code § 35-45-10-5(a) — 8 cases
Nicholson v. State, 963 N.E.2d 1096 (Ind. 2012). “” Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5(a) (2008). To stalk has been defined as “a knowing or an intentional course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another person that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened.”
VanHorn v. State, 889 N.E.2d 908 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). “"Domestic or family violence" includes stalking as defined in Indiana Code Section 35-45-10-5. Ind.Code § 31-9-2-42.”
Waldon v. State, 684 N.E.2d 206 (1997).
— Ind. Code § 35-45-10-5(b) — 2 cases
VanHorn v. State, 889 N.E.2d 908 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). “"Domestic or family violence" includes stalking as defined in Indiana Code Section 35-45-10-5. Ind.Code § 31-9-2-42.”
Collier v. State, 846 N.E.2d 340 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). “[10] Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5. "`Stalk' means a knowing or an intentional course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another person that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened and that actually causes the…”
— Ind. Code § 35-45-10-5(b)(1)(B)(i) — 1 case
Nicholson v. State, 948 N.E.2d 820 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011).
— Ind. Code § 35-45-10-5(b)(2) — 3 cases
Joslyn v. State, 942 N.E.2d 809 (Ind. 2011). “Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5(b)(2) (2008). 3 . Ind.”
Landis v. State, 726 N.E.2d 801 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000).
— Ind. Code § 35-45-10-5(b)(2)(D) — 1 case
Parkhurst v. Van Winkle, 786 N.E.2d 1159 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). “Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5. But the offense is a Class C felony if a person commits stalking against a victim, after a court has issued a protection order under Indiana Code Section 34-26-5 to protect that same victim from the person.”
— Ind. Code § 35-45-10-5(b)(l)(B)(i) — 1 case
Nicholson v. State, 948 N.E.2d 820 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011).
— Ind. Code § 35-45-10-5(c) — 1 case
Landis v. State, 704 N.E.2d 113 (Ind. 1998).
— Ind. Code § 35-45-10-5(c)(1) — 1 case
Collier v. State, 846 N.E.2d 340 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). “[10] Ind.Code § 35-45-10-5. "`Stalk' means a knowing or an intentional course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another person that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened and that actually causes the…”
— Ind. Code § 35-45-10-5(c)(2) — 1 case
Landis v. State, 693 N.E.2d 570 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.