Texas cyberstalking and electronic harassment — Penal Code § 42.07

Texas cyberstalking and electronic harassment is a criminal offense under Penal Code § 42.07. Base conduct is classified as a Class B misdemeanor; enhancements, value tiers, or aggravators can move the classification up to felony exposure. Below: the controlling statute text, the full punishment range, common defense theories, and what to do if you have been charged in Collin, Dallas, Denton, or Tarrant County.

The controlling statute

Texas Penal Code § 42.07 criminalizes harassment by electronic communications — text messages, social media direct messages, email, repeated phone calls, and other digital contact — when made with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another. The statute was upheld against a First Amendment challenge in Ex parte Barton (2021), confirming its application to repeated, unwanted electronic contact even when individual messages are not obscene or threatening.

Classification & punishment range

Elements the State must prove

To convict on a Texas § 42.07 charge, the State must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. Defendant engaged in conduct described by § 42.07(a) — repeated electronic communications, threats, false reports, or anonymous calls
2. Conduct was directed at another specific person
3. Defendant acted with intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass
4. Communications occurred in a manner reasonably likely to harass that person

Defense strategies

L and L Law Group, PLLC develops the following defense strategies on every Cyberstalking and Electronic Harassment case:

• Lack of harassment intent under § 42.07(a) — communications were for a legitimate purpose (debt collection, journalism, advocacy)
• First Amendment challenge as applied — single message of public concern is constitutionally protected
• Constitutional vagueness or overbreadth challenge per Wilson v. State (Tex. Crim. App. 2021)
• Mistaken identity — account spoofing or shared device argued with forensic support
• Consent or invitation — recipient invited the contact, contradicting the alarm element
• Suppression of digital evidence obtained without a search warrant under CCP Art. 18.02

Enhancements & collateral consequences

Section 42.07(c) elevates to a Class A misdemeanor when the defendant has been previously convicted of § 42.07 against the same victim or violated a § 25.07 protective order. Where the conduct also satisfies § 42.072 stalking — repeated harassment causing fear — the offense becomes a 3rd-degree felony. Federal cyberstalking under 18 U.S.C. § 2261A can run consecutively when conduct crosses state lines.