Domestic Cyber Stalking and Disorderly Conduct Charges in Rhode Island Superior Court
Criminal Charges:
Man charged in the Rhode Island Superior Court (Providence County) for:
- Domestic Cyber Stalking, in violation of RIGL § 11-45-4.2
- Domestic Disorderly Conduct, in violation of RIGL § 11-45-1
Case Overview:
A husband and wife were going through a rocky patch, primarily motivated by the husband’s alcoholism and infidelity. When his wife threatened to leave him, he lost control emotionally and retaliated with verbal abuse. He repeatedly called and texted her, communicating threats to end her life and his. In fear for her safety, the woman called East Providence Police, resulting in her husband being arrested and charged with the misdemeanor offenses of Domestic Cyber Stalking and Domestic Disorderly Conduct. Because the man had a history of prior domestic violence convictions, these otherwise misdemeanor charges were charged as felonies, which upon conviction called for a mandatory minimum jail sentence of one year. The man, fearful for his future, hired Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this matter.
Case Result: Probation.
Over time, Attorney Calcagni obtained an affidavit from the man’s wife supporting dismissal of the charges and vacating the No Contact Order that existed between them. Attorney Calcagni used this information, along with proof of his client’s sobriety and voluntary enrollment in counseling, to persuade the prosecution to reduce the charges in a manner that enabled his client to admit responsibility to the non-domestic violence misdemeanor, Disorderly Conduct, in exchange for a sentence of probation. This spared the man from mandatory jail time and permitted he and his wife to reunite, so that they begin working to rebuild their marriage.