WHAT DOES THE WV LAW SAY ABOUT BULLYING, HARASSMENT, AND INTIMIDATION?



Paper Trail - In Law Enforcement the best piece of evidence is a paper trail. Keep records of the incident, how often it took place, and what steps you took. Make sure that you write down Time, Date, and Location of each incident and any witnesses you may have.

§18-2C-2. Definitions.
(a) As used in this article, "harassment, intimidation or bullying" means any intentional gesture,
or any intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act, communication, transmission or threat that:
(1) A reasonable person under the circumstances should know will have the effect of any one or more of the following:
(A) Physically harming a student;
(B) Damaging a student's property;
(C) Placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to his or her person; or
(D) Placing a student in reasonable fear of damage to his or her property;
(2) Is sufficiently severe, persistent or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening or emotionally abusive educational environment for a student; or
(3) Disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school.
(b) As used in this article, an electronic act, communication, transmission or threat includes but is not limited to one which is administered via telephone, wireless phone, computer, pager or any electronic or wireless device whatsoever, and includes but is not limited to transmission of any image or voice, email or text message using any such device.

§18-2C-3. Policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation or bullying.
(a) Each county board shall establish a policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation or bullying. Each county board has control over the content of its policy as long as the policy contains, at a minimum, the requirements of subdivision (b) of this section. The policy shall be adopted through a process that includes representation of parents or guardians, school employees, school volunteers, students and community members.
(b) Each county board policy shall, at a minimum, include the following components:

(1) A statement prohibiting harassment, intimidation or bullying of any student on school property, a school bus, at a school bus stop or at school sponsored events;
(2) A definition of harassment, intimidation or bullying no less inclusive than that in section two of this article;
(3) A procedure for reporting prohibited incidents;
(4) A requirement that school personnel report prohibited incidents of which they are aware;
(5) A requirement that parents or guardians of any student involved in an incident prohibited pursuant
to this article be notified;
(6) A procedure for documenting any prohibited incident that is reported;
(7) A procedure for responding to and investigating any reported incident;
(8) A strategy for protecting a victim from additional harassment, intimidation or bullying, and from retaliation following a report;
(9) A disciplinary procedure for any student guilty of harassment, intimidation or bullying;
(10) A requirement that any information relating to a reported incident is confidential, and exempt from disclosure under the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-b of this code; and
(11) A requirement that each county board shall input into the uniform integrated regional computer information system (commonly known as the West Virginia Education Information System) described in section twenty-six, article two of this chapter, and compile an annual report regarding the means of
harassment,

§61-3C-14a. Obscene, anonymous, harassing and threatening communications by computer, cell phones and electronic communication devices; penalty.
(a) It is unlawful for any person, with the intent to harass or abuse another person, to use a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant or other electronic communication device to:
(1) Make contact with another without disclosing his or her identity with the intent to harass or abuse;
(2) Make contact with a person after being requested by the person to desist from contacting them;
(3) Threaten to commit a crime against any person or property; or
(4) Cause obscene material to be delivered or transmitted to a specific person after being requested to desist from sending such material.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Electronic communication device" means and includes a telephone, wireless phone, computer, pager or any other electronic or wireless device which is capable of transmitting a document, image, voice, e-mail or text message using such device in an electronic, digital or analog form from one person or location so it may be viewed or received by another person or persons at other locations.
(2) "use of a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant or other electronic communication device" includes, but is not limited to, the transmission of text messages, electronic mail, photographs, videos, images or other nonvoice data by means of an electronic communication system, and includes
the transmission of such data, documents, messages and images to another's computer, e-mail account, mobile phone, personal digital assistant or other electronic communication device.
(3) "obscene material" means material that:
(A) An average person, applying contemporary adult community standards, would find, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, is intended to appeal to the prurient interest, or is pandered to a prurient interest;
(B) An average person, applying contemporary adult community standards, would find, depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexually explicit conduct consisting of an ultimate sexual act, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, an excretory function, masturbation, lewd exhibition of the genitals, or sadomasochistic sexual abuse; and
(C) A reasonable person would find, taken as a whole, lacks literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
(c) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly permit a computer, mobile phone or personal digital assistant or other electronic communication device under his or her control to be used for any purpose prohibited by this section.

§61-6-7. Conspiracy to inflict injury to persons or property; infliction of injury or death in pursuance thereof; penalties.

If two or more persons under the name of "Red Men," "Regulators," "Vigilance Committee," or any other name or without a name, combine or conspire together for the purpose of inflicting any punishment or bodily injury upon any other person or persons, or for the purpose of destroying, injuring, defacing, or taking and carrying away any property, real or personal, not their own, every
such person, whether he has done any act in pursuance of such combination or conspiracy or not, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, and may, in the discretion of the court, be confined in jail not less than one nor more than twelve months.


If any person, in pursuance of such combination or conspiracy, shall inflict any punishment or bodily injury upon another person, or shall destroy, injure, deface, or take and carry away, any property, real or personal, not his own, he shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, shall be confined in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than ten years; and if the death of any person shall result from the commission of such offense, every person engaged in the commission thereof shall be guilty of murder of the first degree, and, upon conviction thereof, punished as in other cases of murder
of the first degree. If, upon the trial of an indictment hereunder, it be proved that two or more persons, the defendant being one, were present, aiding and abetting in the commission of the offense charged therein, it shall be presumed that such offense was committed in pursuance of such combination or conspiracy, in the absence of satisfactory proof to the contrary. And all persons who were present, aiding and abetting, at the commission of any offense mentioned herein, shall be deemed conspirators within the meaning hereof. Persons offending against any of the provisions of this section may be indicted therefor, either jointly or separately.

§61-2-9a. Stalking; harassment; penalties; definitions.
(a) Any person who repeatedly follows another knowing or having reason to know that the conduct causes the person followed to reasonably fear for his or her safety or suffer significant emotional distress, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be incarcerated in the
county or regional jail for not more than six months or fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both.
(b) Any person who repeatedly harasses or repeatedly makes credible threats against another is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be incarcerated in the county or regional
jail for not more than six months or fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section in violation of an order entered by a circuit court, magistrate court or family court judge, in effect and entered pursuant to part 48-5-501, et seq., part
48-5-601, et seq. or 48-27-403 of this code is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be incarcerated in the county jail for not less than ninety days nor more than one year or fined not less than two thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or both.
(d) A second or subsequent conviction for a violation of this section occurring within five years of a
prior conviction is a felony punishable by incarceration in a state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than five years or fined not less than three thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, any person against whom a protective order for injunctive relief is in effect pursuant to the provisions of section five hundred one, article twenty-seven, chapter forty-eight of this code who has been served with a copy of said order or
section six hundred eight, article five, chapter forty-eight of this code who is convicted of a violation of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a felony and punishable by incarceration in a state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than five years or fined not less than three
thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(f) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Bodily injury" means substantial physical pain, illness or any impairment of physical condition;
(2) "Credible threat" means a threat of bodily injury made with the apparent ability to carry out the
threat and with the result that a reasonable person would believe that the threat could be carried out;
(3) "Harasses" means willful conduct directed at a specific person or persons which would cause a reasonable person mental injury or emotional distress
(4) "Immediate family" means a spouse, parent, stepparent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, child, stepchild, sibling, or any person who regularly resides in the household or within the prior six months
regularly resided in the household; and
(5) "Repeatedly" means on two or more occasions.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent lawful assembly and petition for the lawful redress of grievances, including, but not limited to: Any labor or employment relations issue; demonstration at the seat of federal, state, county or municipal government; activities protected
by the West Virginia constitution or the United States Constitution or any statute of this state or the United States.
(h) Any person convicted under the provisions of this section who is granted probation or for whom execution or imposition of a sentence or incarceration is suspended is to have as a condition
of probation or suspension of sentence that he or she participate in counseling or medical treatment as directed by the court.
(i) Upon conviction, the court may issue an order restraining the defendant from any contact with the
victim for a period not to exceed ten years. The length of any restraining order shall be based upon the seriousness of the violation before the court, the probability of future violations, and the safety of the victim or his or her immediate family. The duration of the restraining order may be longer than five years only in cases when a longer duration is necessary to protect the safety of the victim or his or her immediate family.
(j) It is a condition of bond for any person accused of the offense described in this section that the person is to have no contact, direct or indirect, verbal or physical, with the alleged victim.

(k) Nothing in this section may be construed to preclude a sentencing court from exercising its power to impose home confinement with electronic monitoring as an alternative sentence.
(l) The Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction, after consultation with representatives of labor, licensed domestic violence programs and rape crisis centers which meet the standards of the West Virginia
Foundation for Rape Information and Services, is authorized to promulgate legislative rules and emergency rules pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing appropriate standards for the
enforcement of this section by state, county, and municipal law-enforcement officers and agencies.

§61-8-16. Obscene, anonymous, harassing, repeated and threatening telephone calls; penalty.
(a) It is unlawful for any person with intent to harass or abuse another by means of telephone to:
(1) Make any comment, request, suggestion or proposal which is obscene; or
(2) Make a telephone call, whether or not conversation ensues, without disclosing his or her identity and with intent to harass any person at the called number; or
(3) Make or cause the telephone of another repeatedly or continuously to ring, with intent to harass any person at the called number; or
(4) Make repeated telephone calls, during which conversation ensues, with intent to harass any person at the called number; or
(5) Threaten to commit a crime against any person or property.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly permit any telephone under his or her control to be used for any
purpose prohibited by this section.
(c) Any offense committed under this section may be deemed to have occurred at the place at which the telephone call was made, or the place at which the telephone call was received.
(d) Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500, or confined in jail not more than six months, or both fined and confined.