Stalking 4th Degree (M) includes causing reasonable fear of material harm to person/family or a third party.

Stalking 4th Degree (M) includes causing reasonable fear of material harm to person/family or a third party.

• A. Cause reasonable fear of material harm to person/family or a third party.
• B. Causing physical injury.
• C. Damaging property.
• D. Harassment through repeated calls only.

Answer: (A)

Stalking in the fourth degree centers on creating a reasonable fear for someone’s safety through a pattern of conduct. The key element is that the offender’s actions cause the target to fear material harm to themselves, a family member, or a third party, even if no actual harm occurs. This means the fear itself is what makes the conduct criminal, not the occurrence of an injury. That’s why the correct answer is that the offense involves causing a reasonable fear of material harm to a person, their family, or a third party. It doesn’t require physical injury to have happened, and it doesn’t demand property damage. The behavior can be a course of conduct—like following, monitoring, or threatening—that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety. The other options don’t fit because physical injury would move into a more serious charge, property damage isn’t the defining element here, and limiting the behavior to repeated calls fails to capture the broader pattern that can satisfy the statute.

Stalking in the fourth degree centers on creating a reasonable fear for someone’s safety through a pattern of conduct. The key element is that the offender’s actions cause the target to fear material harm to themselves, a family member, or a third party, even if no actual harm occurs. This means the fear itself is what makes the conduct criminal, not the occurrence of an injury.

That’s why the correct answer is that the offense involves causing a reasonable fear of material harm to a person, their family, or a third party. It doesn’t require physical injury to have happened, and it doesn’t demand property damage. The behavior can be a course of conduct—like following, monitoring, or threatening—that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety. The other options don’t fit because physical injury would move into a more serious charge, property damage isn’t the defining element here, and limiting the behavior to repeated calls fails to capture the broader pattern that can satisfy the statute.