OREGON HARASSMENT LAWS

WHAT IS THE CHARGE OF HARASSMENT IN OREGON? 

   ORS 166.065 Harassment. 

   (1) A person commits the crime of harassment if the person intentionally:

      (a) Harasses or annoys another person by:

      (A) Subjecting such other person to offensive physical contact; or

      (B) Publicly insulting such other person by abusive words or gestures in a manner intended and likely to provoke a violent response;

      (b) Subjects another to alarm by conveying a false report, known by the conveyor to be false, concerning death or serious physical injury to a person, which report reasonably would be expected to cause alarm; or

      (c) Subjects another to alarm by conveying a telephonic, electronic or written threat to inflict serious physical injury on that person or to commit a felony involving the person or property of that person or any member of that person’s family, which threat reasonably would be expected to cause alarm.

   (2)(a) A person is criminally liable for harassment if the person knowingly permits any telephone or electronic device under the person’s control to be used in violation of subsection (1) of this section.

      (b) Harassment that is committed under the circumstances described in subsection (1)(c) of this section is committed in either the county in which the communication originated or the county in which the communication was received.

   (3) Harassment is a Class B misdemeanor.

   (4) Notwithstanding subsection (3) of this section, harassment is a Class A misdemeanor if a person violates:

      (a) Subsection (1)(a)(A) of this section by subjecting another person to offensive physical contact and:

      (A) The offensive physical contact consists of touching the sexual or other intimate parts of the other person; or

      (B)(i) The victim of the offense is a family or household member of the person; and

      (ii) The offense is committed in the immediate presence of, or is witnessed by, the person’s or the victim’s minor child or stepchild or a minor child residing within the household of the person or victim; or

      (b) Subsection (1)(c) of this section and:

      (A) The person has a previous conviction under subsection (1)(c) of this section and the victim of the current offense was the victim or a member of the family of the victim of the previous offense;

      (B) At the time the offense was committed, the victim was protected by a stalking protective order, a restraining order as defined in ORS 24.190 or any other court order prohibiting the person from contacting the victim;

      (C) At the time the offense was committed, the person reasonably believed the victim to be under 18 years of age and more than three years younger than the person; or

      (D)(i) The person conveyed a threat to kill the other person or any member of the family of the other person;

      (ii) The person expressed the intent to carry out the threat; and

      (iii) A reasonable person would believe that the threat was likely to be followed by action.

      (5) The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission shall classify harassment as described in subsection (4)(a)(B) of this section as a person Class A misdemeanor under the rules of the commission.

      (6)(a) As used in this section:

      (A) “Electronic threat” means a threat conveyed by electronic mail, the Internet, a telephone text message or any other transmission of information by wire, radio, optical cable, cellular system, electromagnetic system or other similar means.

      (B) “Family or household member” has the meaning given that term in ORS 135.230.

      (b) For purposes of subsection (4) of this section, an offense is witnessed if the offense is seen or directly perceived in any other manner by the minor child. [1971 c.743 §223; 1981 c.468 §1; 1985 c.498 §1; 1987 c.806 §3; 1995 c.802 §1; 2001 c.870 §2; 2009 c.783 §1; 2013 c.649 §26; 2017 c.430 §1; 2019 c.304 §3] 

WHAT IS THE CHARGE OF AGGRAVATED HARASSMENT IN OREGON?

   ORS 166.070 Aggravated harassment. 

   (1) A person commits the crime of aggravated harassment if the person, knowing that the other person is a:

      (a) Staff member, knowingly propels saliva, blood, urine, semen, feces or other dangerous substance at the staff member while the staff member is acting in the course of official duty or as a result of the staff member’s official duties;

      (b) Public safety officer, knowingly propels blood, urine, semen or feces at the public safety officer while the public safety officer is acting in the course of official duty or as a result of the public safety officer’s official duties; or

      (c) Public safety officer, intentionally propels saliva at the public safety officer, and the saliva comes into physical contact with the public safety officer, while the public safety officer is acting in the course of official duty or as a result of the public safety officer’s official duties.

   (2) Aggravated harassment is a Class C felony. When a person is convicted of violating subsection (1)(a) of this section, in addition to any other sentence it may impose, the court shall impose a term of incarceration in a state correctional facility.

   (3) As used in this section:

      (a) “Public safety officer” means an emergency medical services provider as defined in ORS 682.025, a regulatory specialist as defined in ORS 471.001 or a fire service professional, a parole and probation officer or a police officer as those terms are defined in ORS 181A.355.

      (b) “Staff member” has the meaning given that term in ORS 163.165. [2009 c.783 §2; 2011 c.703 §28; 2012 c.54 §27; 2013 c.477 §1; 2015 c.614 §151]

Harassment is either a Class A misdemeanor or a Class B misdemeanor.  Aggravated harassment is a Class C felony.