{"id":1961,"date":"2022-03-02T19:36:28","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T19:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/?p=1961"},"modified":"2022-03-02T19:36:28","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T19:36:28","slug":"is-prank-calling-a-crime-in-indiana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/is-prank-calling-a-crime-in-indiana\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Prank Calling a Crime in Indiana?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\" style=\"font-size:17px\">We\u2019ve all been there at some point in our childhood. Prank calling is almost an expected milestone of growing up. But can it come with some unexpected consequences? Continue reading to learn how prank calling can go from an innocent and playful trick to an actual Indiana crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Harassment-Charges-Lawyer-Indianapolis-Indiana-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Harassment Charges Lawyer Indianapolis Indiana 317-636-7514\" class=\"wp-image-1962\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Harassment-Charges-Lawyer-Indianapolis-Indiana-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Harassment-Charges-Lawyer-Indianapolis-Indiana-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Harassment-Charges-Lawyer-Indianapolis-Indiana-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Harassment-Charges-Lawyer-Indianapolis-Indiana-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Harassment-Charges-Lawyer-Indianapolis-Indiana-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Harassment-Charges-Lawyer-Indianapolis-Indiana.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Harassment Charges Lawyer Indianapolis Indiana 317-636-7514<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:30px\">Harassment Laws in Indiana<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Although prank calling is a common practical joke, it can be taken too far. In such cases, criminal charges can be filed against the caller in Indiana. Harassment is the most common and likely criminal charge that can arise from a prank calling situation. However, there are some other criminal charges that a person can face, such as disorderly conduct, hate crime, and even wiretapping. Criminal charges and subsequent penalties for prank calling will vary among jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-heading\">Harassment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One can be charged and convicted of harassment as a result of prank calling activity if their calls are late at night, incessant, derogatory, aggressive, sexual in nature, or threatening. The scale on which the law categorizes and penalizes prank call harassment will vary from county to county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-heading\">Disorderly Conduct<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If a person disrupts the peace of the community or behaves in a way that is alarming or threatening to others, they can be arrested and charged with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/how-to-defend-your-disorderly-conduct-charges-in-indianapolis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">disorderly conduct<\/a>. Most disorderly conduct charges stem from drunk or drugged situations, but prank calling in a way that causes fear, anxiety, and\/or discomfort can lead to such legal consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-heading\">Hate Crime<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the case that prank calling activity involves derogatory remarks, sounds, and impressions pertaining to race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability, a caller could face hate crime criminal charges. These are serious criminal charges that often come with severe penalties, like heavy fines and jail time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-heading\">Wiretapping<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wiretapping criminal charges are on more of a white-collar crime level. If prank calling involves <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/can-i-use-a-recorded-phone-conversation-as-evidence-in-court\/\" target=\"_blank\">recording the conversation<\/a> without the mark\u2019s knowledge, and therefore, consent, the caller could be charged with wiretapping. Wiretapping is a felony, which renders heavy fines, community service, and jail time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:18px\"><strong>Did some prank calling get you or your kids in trouble with the law recently?<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/contact-us.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Contact Attorney David E. Lewis<\/a> at 317-636-7514 to speak with a seasoned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">criminal defense lawyer in Indianapolis, Indiana<\/a>. Our legal team can help you obtain the best possible outcome to your criminal matters!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related Posts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/can-i-be-arrested-for-intimidating-someone\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Can I Be Arrested for Intimidating Someone?<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/were-you-accused-of-a-crime-you-didnt-commit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Were You Accused of a Crime You Didn\u2019t Commit?<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/possible-court-ordered-penalties-for-felonies-and-misdemeanors-in-indiana\/\">Possible <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/possible-court-ordered-penalties-for-felonies-and-misdemeanors-in-indiana\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Court<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/possible-court-ordered-penalties-for-felonies-and-misdemeanors-in-indiana\/\">-Ordered Penalties for Felonies and Misdemeanors in Indiana<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/contact-us.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"213\" src=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Crime-Attorney-David-E-Lewis-Indianapolis-Indiana-1024x213.png\" alt=\"Criminal Attorney David E Lewis Indianapolis Indiana 317-636-7514\" class=\"wp-image-1958\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Crime-Attorney-David-E-Lewis-Indianapolis-Indiana-1024x213.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Crime-Attorney-David-E-Lewis-Indianapolis-Indiana-300x62.png 300w, https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Crime-Attorney-David-E-Lewis-Indianapolis-Indiana-768x160.png 768w, https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Crime-Attorney-David-E-Lewis-Indianapolis-Indiana-500x104.png 500w, https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Crime-Attorney-David-E-Lewis-Indianapolis-Indiana.png 1300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Criminal Attorney David E Lewis Indianapolis Indiana 317-636-7514<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve all been there at some point in our childhood. Prank calling is almost an expected milestone of growing up. But can it come with some unexpected consequences? Continue reading to learn how prank calling can go from an innocent &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/is-prank-calling-a-crime-in-indiana\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1,1121,279],"tags":[1116,1513,280,1510,1380,1512,1236],"class_list":["post-1961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-defense","category-criminal-law","category-disorderly-conduct","category-juvenile-crimes","tag-disorderly-conduct","tag-hate-crime-prank-calls","tag-juvenile-criminal-defense","tag-prank-calling-a-crime","tag-prank-calling-laws","tag-prank-calling-laws-indiana","tag-wiretapping"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1961"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1963,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961\/revisions\/1963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.delewislaw.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}