Life changes dramatically for someone who is a victim of domestic violence, and they may feel alone and scared, but help is available through the courts. Someone who has been in a violent relationship and feels unsafe may be able to take steps to keep the abuser away by filing a restraining order. A judge may grant a restraining order if the victim proves that they have been subjected to one of the 19 crimes set forth in the New Jersey Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (N.J.S.A 2C:33 et al.) and needs protection.

The explanations below are only interpretations of New Jersey’s criminal statutes. To better understand each crime, you may look up the New Jersey statutes listed in parentheses by the name of each crime. If you think you have been a victim of any of these crimes, you should contact an attorney or your local domestic violence agency. In an emergency, contact the police.

Harassment (N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4)

In order to commit the crime of harassment, a person must intend to annoy or alarm another person. Harassment can be in the form of an alarming communication, an anonymous communication, a communication at extremely inconvenient hours or a communication that invades a person’s privacy. A person may harass by email, regular mail, phone calls, texting, face-to-face communications, or other forms of communication.

A person may also be guilty of harassment if that person touches another person in an offensive way. Offensive touch includes hitting, kicking, and pushing even if the victim was not injured. Threatening to do any of these acts may also be considered harassment.

If someone repeatedly engages in behavior that is meant to scare or seriously annoy a victim, that may also be harassment.

Assault (N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1) 

The most common example of an assault is when someone hurts another person. There does not have to be a visible injury, just a feeling of pain. Assault can also be trying to harm a victim or threatening to harm them. The harm may or may not involve a deadly weapon. For example, if an abuser threatens someone with a gun, whether or not it was loaded, and did not care that the victim could have been hurt, they may be guilty of assault.

Terroristic threats (N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3)

Someone who threatens to commit any violent crime with the purpose of terrorizing another may be guilty of terroristic threats. An offender may also be guilty of terroristic threats if they threaten to kill someone else and the victim believes that the abuser can and will do it. A conditional threat (“If you do x, then I will kill you”) may not meet the standard for a terroristic threat.

Criminal mischief (N.J.S.A. 2C:17-3)

Is someone breaks or destroys another’s belongings on purpose, they may be guilty of criminal mischief. The property must belong to the victim, but it can be property that the offender and victim own together. If an offender tampers with property in a way that puts the victim or their belongings in danger, the offender may be guilty of criminal mischief. Common examples of criminal mischief include someone keying a car, punching a hole in the wall of a home, or breaking a cell phone.

Criminal restraint (N.J.S.A. 2C:13-2)

Keeping a victim in a place that puts them at risk of serious bodily injury or keeping them somewhere and not allowing them to leave may be criminal restraint. For example, if the offender locks the victim in a room and also attacks them, that is criminal restraint. Serious bodily injury means any injury that could be deadly or cause long-term disability. Criminal restraint is also defined as subjecting someone to involuntary servitude against their will.

False imprisonment (N.J.S.A. 2C:13-3)

Keeping a victim somewhere against their will may be false imprisonment. False imprisonment is different from criminal restraint in that false imprisonment does not require risk of serious bodily injury. For example, if a victim is prevented from leaving a particular area by an offender but is not injured in any way, that may be false imprisonment, but not criminal restraint.

Burglary (N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2)

Burglary may be committed in two ways. If someone breaks into a house or other secured building and has the intent to commit a crime inside or if a person hides in a house or other secured building without permission to be there with the intent to commit a crime inside that house or building, that person may have committed an act of burglary.

Criminal sexual contact (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-1, 2C:14-3)

A person who uses actual force or coercion (such as bullying or threatening violence) to have sexual contact with another person may be guilty of criminal sexual contact. If the contact happens simply without freely given consent, it still may be considered force or coercion. Criminal sexual contact may also include situations where the offender physically overpowers the victim. Sexual contact is defined as intentionally touching the victim’s thigh, groin, buttocks, or breast without the victim’s consent. The offender must be doing this for personal sexual pleasure or to humiliate or degrade the victim.

Sexual assault (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-1, 2C:14-2)

Sexual assault is any instance where an offender uses force or coercion to sexually penetrate another person. Force or coercion may mean simply that the victim does not provide freely given consent to the sexual activity but may also include the offender physically overpowering the victim. Sexual penetration means vaginal sex, anal sex, oral sex, or putting fingers or objects into the vagina or anus. It can be considered sexual assault if the penetration was done by the offender personally or if the offender ordered the victim to commit the penetration.

Kidnapping (N.J.S.A. 2C:13-1)

Kidnapping is when an offender takes a victim from one place to another by force, threat, or deception. Kidnapping can also be when an offender keeps a person hostage or holds them for ransom. Kidnapping may also be defined as keeping a victim somewhere for a long time to hurt or scare the victim.

Stalking (N.J.S.A. 2C:12-10, 2C:12-10.1)

Stalking is when an offender, more than once: follows, monitors, or observes a victim or sends other people to follow, monitor or observe them, interferes with their belongings, harasses them, or threatens them. If the offender does these things on purpose and a reasonable person would be afraid of injury or death because of the offender’s actions, then the offender may be guilt of stalking.

Lewdness (N.J.S.A. 2C:14-4)

Lewdness is when a person does something “flagrantly lewd and offensive” in front of another person who would not want to see the offensive act. A common example of this is a person who exposes their private parts for their own pleasure to a non-consenting person.

Criminal trespass (N.J.S.A. 2C:18-3)

If someone enters or hides out in a house or other building and does not have permission to be there, that person may be guilty of criminal trespass. They must know that they did not have permission to be there.

If the person is told they cannot be on the property, or there is a guard or sign keeping people out of the building or telling people not to enter, or there is a fence or locked door blocking people from entering, and a person ignores the signs, locked doors, fences, or security guard and enters anyway, that person may be guilty of criminal trespass.

Homicide (N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1 to 2C:11-4)

Homicide is when one person kills another person. An attempted homicide may be a crime of domestic violence for the purpose of a restraining order hearing.

Criminal Coercion (N.J.S.A. 2C:13-5)

Criminal coercion means that someone tries to make the victim do something or tries to stop the victim from doing something by threatening that they will: hurt the victim or someone else, commit a crime, accuse someone else of committing a crime, expose a secret that would damage the victim’s reputation or credit, testify or not testify in court, or do something to damage the victim’s health, safety, career, or personal relationships. Criminal coercion is more than just a threat. The threat must be connected to trying unlawfully to force the victim’s behavior.

Robbery (N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1)

Robbery occurs when someone steals something from a victim while at the same time hurting them, threatening to hurt them, using force, or committing or threatening to commit certain other crimes.

Contempt of a domestic violence restraining order (N.J.S.A. 2C:29-9)

If someone already has a temporary restraining order or a final restraining order and the abuser calls, emails, texts, shows up at their home or work, or in any way contacts them, that is a violation of the restraining order. The violation should result in the arrest of the abuser. In the case of a temporary restraining order, the violation would also allow the victim to go to court to amend (add information to) the temporary restraining order by including contempt of a domestic violence order as an additional crime for the court to consider in the trial for the final restraining order.

Cyber-harassment (N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1)

Cyber-harassment is when someone threatens online to harm a person or their property. It is also when someone posts, comments, requests, suggests or proposes any “indecent” or “obscene” material about another person with the intent to emotionally harm them or place them in fear of physical or emotional harm. If someone uses Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or another online forum to threaten another person with harm or if someone posts intimate photographs of another online or threatens to do so, they may be committing cyber-harassment.

Any other crime involving risk of death or serious bodily injury

If someone has committed a crime that involves risk of death or serious bodily injury, that may constitute an act of domestic violence. Arson and neglect of an elderly person are two examples of crimes that may put someone at risk of death or serious bodily injury.

LSNJLAW^SM Hotline

If you need help with a domestic violence situation, you may contact LSNJLAW^SM Legal Services of New Jersey’s statewide, toll-free legal hotline, at www.lsnjlawhotline.org or by calling 1-888-LSNJ-LAW (1-888-576-5529). The hotline offers legal representation and advice to victims who cannot otherwise afford an attorney.

Handbook and self-help videos

Legal Services of New Jersey publishes a handbook, Domestic Violence: A Guide to the Legal Rights of Domestic Violence Victims in New Jersey, and provides a series of Restraining Order Videos to walk you through the process of obtaining a temporary or final restraining order.​​​​

This information last reviewed: Aug 27, 2024