(A) Except as provided in subsection (B), a person who engages in harassment in the second degree is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than two hundred dollars, imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.

(B) A person convicted of harassment in the second degree is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars, imprisoned not more than one year, or both if:

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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 16-3-1710

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Family: means a spouse, child, parent, sibling, or a person who regularly resides in the same household as the targeted person. See South Carolina Code 16-3-1700
  • Harassment in the second degree: means a pattern of intentional, substantial, and unreasonable intrusion into the private life of a targeted person that serves no legitimate purpose and causes the person and would cause a reasonable person in his position to suffer mental or emotional distress. See South Carolina Code 16-3-1700
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Stalking: means a pattern of words, whether verbal, written, or electronic, or a pattern of conduct that serves no legitimate purpose and is intended to cause and does cause a targeted person and would cause a reasonable person in the targeted person's position to fear:

    (1) death of the person or a member of his family;

    (2) assault upon the person or a member of his family;

    (3) bodily injury to the person or a member of his family;

    (4) criminal sexual contact on the person or a member of his family;

    (5) kidnapping of the person or a member of his family; or

    (6) damage to the property of the person or a member of his family. See South Carolina Code 16-3-1700

(1) the person has a prior conviction of harassment or stalking within the preceding ten years; or

(2) at the time of the harassment an injunction or restraining order, including a restraining order issued by the family court, was in effect prohibiting the harassment.

(C) In addition to the penalties provided in this section, a person convicted of harassment in the second degree who received licensing or registration information pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 3 of Title 56 and used the information in furtherance of the commission of the offense under this section must be fined two hundred dollars or imprisoned thirty days, or both.

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