You’ve been charged with making harassing or obscene phone calls, or someone in your family has. The charge may be about calls, texts, emails, or social media messages. It’s a lot to take in, and you probably want to know what the law actually says. Here it is in plain words.
This post covers what the law says, how people end up charged, what each key word means, what the Commonwealth has to prove, the penalties, how this differs from criminal harassment, and where a defense comes from.
What the Harassing or Obscene Phone Calls Law Says
Massachusetts makes it a crime to call or message someone over and over just to harass them, or over and over with obscene language.
The law is G.L. c. 269, § 14A. Its heading is “Annoying telephone calls or electronic communication.” It reads, in part:
“Whoever telephones another person or contacts another person by electronic communication, or causes a person to be telephoned or contacted by electronic communication, repeatedly, for the sole purpose of harassing, annoying or molesting the person or the person’s family, whether or not conversation ensues, or whoever telephones or contacts a person repeatedly by electronic communication and uses indecent or obscene language to the person, shall be punished ….”
So there are two ways to break this law:
- Harassing contact. You call or message someone repeatedly, or cause someone else to, for the sole purpose of harassing, annoying, or molesting that person or their family.
- Obscene contact. You call or message someone repeatedly and use indecent or obscene language to them.
How People End Up Facing This Charge
Most of these cases start with an ordinary conflict that moves onto a phone or a screen.
- After a breakup, one person keeps calling or texting the other, many times. The claim is that the contact was “repeated” and meant only to harass or annoy.
- During a family fight, someone calls a relative many times in a row, even though nobody picks up. The law applies “whether or not conversation ensues,” meaning whether or not anyone actually talks.
- In a dispute with a neighbor, coworker, or former friend, someone sends message after message by text, email, or social media. Those all count as “electronic communication.”
- Someone asks a friend to keep calling or messaging another person for them. The law covers a person who “causes” someone to be called or contacted.
- Someone keeps contacting a person’s parent, partner, or child to upset that person. The law protects “the person or the person’s family.”
- Someone sends repeated calls or messages with sexual or vulgar language. That fits the second part of the law, about “indecent or obscene language.”
What “Repeatedly” Means
The contact has to happen “repeatedly,” which means three or more times.
Section 14A doesn’t give a number. But the Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court, has read “repeatedly” to require three or more calls (Commonwealth v. Wotan, 422 Mass. 740, 742 n.4 (1996)). The District Court’s model jury instruction says the same: “three or more times.” So one or two calls or messages aren’t enough.
Both parts of the law use the word “repeatedly,” so this applies to every case under § 14A.
What “For the Sole Purpose of Harassing, Annoying or Molesting” Means
For the harassing part of the law, the only reason for the contact has to be to harass, annoy, or molest.
- Sole purpose means the only purpose. The law says “sole,” not “main” or “partly.”
- Harass means to keep bothering or pressuring someone.
- Annoy means to irritate or bother someone.
- Molest isn’t defined in § 14A. One everyday meaning is to bother or disturb someone.
The words can aim at the person you contacted or at “the person’s family.” The sole-purpose words appear only in the harassing part. The obscene-language part doesn’t use them.
What Counts as an “Electronic Communication”
The law reaches far beyond old-fashioned phone calls.
Section 14A says “electronic communication” includes, but isn’t limited to, “any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photo-electronic or photo-optical system.” In plain words, that covers texts, emails, voicemails, direct messages, and other messages sent by phone or computer. “Intelligence” here just means information.
What “Indecent or Obscene Language” Means
The second part of the law is about the words used, not the reason for the contact.
Section 14A doesn’t define “indecent” or “obscene.” It requires two things together: repeated calls or messages to a person, and indecent or obscene language used “to the person.” If the language isn’t indecent or obscene, this part of the law doesn’t apply.
What the Commonwealth Must Prove
The Commonwealth (the state, through the prosecutor) has to prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt, and which elements depend on which part of the law is charged.
For the harassing part, the Commonwealth must prove:
- You telephoned or contacted another person by electronic communication, or caused that person to be telephoned or contacted;
- You did it repeatedly; and
- Your sole purpose was to harass, annoy, or molest that person or their family.
For the obscene part, the Commonwealth must prove:
- You telephoned or contacted a person by electronic communication;
- You did it repeatedly; and
- You used indecent or obscene language to that person.
An element is one required piece of the crime. If the Commonwealth can’t prove any one of them, you can’t be convicted under that part. You can read more about proof beyond a reasonable doubt and criminal intent.
A Misdemeanor, Heard in the District Court
This is a misdemeanor, the less serious category of crime.
Under G.L. c. 274, § 1, “a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison is a felony. All other crimes are misdemeanors.” Section 14A has no state prison term. Under G.L. c. 218, § 26, the district courts can hear “all misdemeanors, except libels.” The superior court shares that power.
Penalties for Harassing or Obscene Phone Calls
The penalties are the same for both parts of the law.
- A fine of up to $500;
- Up to 3 months in jail; or
- Both the fine and jail.
Section 14A doesn’t set a higher penalty for a second or later offense. These are the maximums. The law doesn’t set a minimum sentence.
How This Is Different From Criminal Harassment
Criminal harassment is a separate, more serious crime with different elements and higher penalties.
Criminal harassment is in G.L. c. 265, § 43A. It can also be committed by phone or electronic message, so the two charges sometimes come up together. Here’s how they differ:
- What has to be proved. Under § 14A, the Commonwealth proves repeated contact for the sole purpose of harassing, annoying, or molesting, or repeated contact with obscene language. Under § 43A, it must prove you “willfully and maliciously” engaged in “a knowing pattern of conduct or series of acts over a period of time” aimed at a specific person, which “seriously alarms that person and would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress.”
- Effect on the other person. Section 43A’s words include how the conduct affected the person: the conduct must be something that “seriously alarms” them. Section 14A’s words don’t include that.
- Penalties under § 14A. Up to a $500 fine, up to 3 months in jail, or both.
- Penalties under § 43A. Up to 2½ years in the house of correction, up to a $5,000 fine, or both. A second offense, or an offense after a stalking conviction, can bring up to 10 years in state prison, up to a $15,000 fine, or both.
Read more in our post on criminal harassment in Massachusetts.
Related Charges
Repeated calls or messages can lead to other charges too, depending on what was said and whether a court order was in place.
- Stalking (G.L. c. 265, § 43): adds a threat meant to put the person in imminent fear of death or bodily injury.
- Threats to commit a crime (G.L. c. 275, § 2): about a threat to commit a crime, not about repeated contact.
- Annoying and accosting (G.L. c. 272, § 53(a)): offensive and disorderly acts or language toward someone, with no repeated calls or messages required.
- Violating a harassment prevention order (G.L. c. 258E, § 9): contact that breaks the terms of a court order, whatever the reason for it.
- Violating an abuse prevention order (G.L. c. 209A, § 7): the same, for an order issued under c. 209A.
Where a Defense Comes From
A defense starts with the exact words of § 14A and the proof the Commonwealth has for each one.
- Who made the contact. The Commonwealth has to prove it was you who called or sent the messages, or caused them.
- Repeatedly. One or two calls or messages aren’t enough. It takes three or more.
- Sole purpose. For the harassing part, the purpose has to be only to harass, annoy, or molest.
- The language. For the obscene part, the words have to be indecent or obscene and used to the person.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is one call or text enough for a charge under § 14A?
No. Both parts of the law require contact made “repeatedly,” which means three or more times. One or two calls or texts aren’t enough.
Does the other person have to answer the phone?
Not for the harassing part. The law applies “whether or not conversation ensues.”
Do texts and social media messages count?
Yes. They fit the law’s definition of “electronic communication,” which includes any transfer of writing, images, sounds, or data by wire, radio, or similar systems.
Is harassing phone calls a felony?
No. Section 14A has no state prison term, so under G.L. c. 274, § 1 it’s a misdemeanor.
Facing a Harassing Phone Calls Charge? Talk to a Lawyer
This charge turns on how often the contact happened, what was said, and why. You don’t have to face it alone. The Law Office of William J. Barabino in Medford has over 23 years of experience in Massachusetts criminal defense and represents clients throughout Greater Boston.
Call 781-393-5900 to talk about your charge and your options.
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Disclaimer
This article is for general educational information about Massachusetts criminal law. It is not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change. For advice about a specific case, speak with a licensed Massachusetts attorney.
