C
czanne
Guest
My situation is quite complicated. I appreciate anyone taking the time to read all of this and hopefully offer any advice. In September 2000, I e mailed pictures of my children to family members. Very soon afterward, my sister in law e mailed those pictures to her boyfriend. A few weeks ago, her boyfriend e mailed those pictures back to me, but the problem is this: what my sister in law and her boyfriend are saying about my children in the forwarded e mails that I have received, is at the least, harrassing toward my family and myself. Please keep in mind that both of my e mail addresses are private. Although my sister in law does know the addresses, her boyfriend did not, up until this began.
The contents of the e mails are photographs of my children attatched to messages in which they refer to my children as their own. They have made up their own names for my kids, which are also in the e mails. Both of these people live in the same town as I do, and rumors about my children being their own are spreading like wild fire. So are other rumors, such as one of my children being terminally ill, and more. Both of these people are under the age of 18. I have contacted their parents, via e mail, and them, and have stated to them that if this continued to go any further, that I would pursue legal action. They have ignored my warning. I have contacted their ISP's and alerted them to the situation. They seem to not want to get involved.
My children are very young (ages 4 yrs, 3yrs, and 8 months).
Although this may seem harmless, it is causing my family and I a lot of embarrassment in our hometown (by means of having to explain the situation to people who ask, almost eveywhere we go). Both parties have also opened a Hotmail account in my four year old sons name. They had the audacity to send me e cards from this account in the name of my son. I have contacted Hotmail and MSN and asked them to please delete the account because my child did not open it (he is only four years old and can't even read yet). They replied saying that they could not close the account unless I faxed them a photo ID of my son. Now, that is rather ridiculous because I know of no four year old who has a photo ID. As far as I know, the account is still active. I have saved to draft, every e mail that I have received from all parties involved, for proof.
My sister in laws boyfriend even took the liberty to involve his father in all of this. After e mailing his father and asking him to please stop his son from harrassing my family any further, he told me to "get a lawyer".
What I need to know as soon as possible is this: does this constitute as slander and/or harrassment in the state of Pennsylvania? Can I obtain a PFA against the parties involved on behalf of my children, even though there is no physical threat to my children? I have heard about "gag orders", what are they? Can I obtain one? How do I go about it? Is there anything I can do, legally, to stop them from doing this?
I know this is a very childish situation, and it pains me to know that I may be sinking to their level. But it is my job to advocate for my children. If anyone out there can offer any advice, please do so immediately. I receive e mails from these people almost on a daily basis, and I am losing my patience even quicker. Thank you for taking the time to read my post, any information you may have is very much appreciated.
czanne
The contents of the e mails are photographs of my children attatched to messages in which they refer to my children as their own. They have made up their own names for my kids, which are also in the e mails. Both of these people live in the same town as I do, and rumors about my children being their own are spreading like wild fire. So are other rumors, such as one of my children being terminally ill, and more. Both of these people are under the age of 18. I have contacted their parents, via e mail, and them, and have stated to them that if this continued to go any further, that I would pursue legal action. They have ignored my warning. I have contacted their ISP's and alerted them to the situation. They seem to not want to get involved.
My children are very young (ages 4 yrs, 3yrs, and 8 months).
Although this may seem harmless, it is causing my family and I a lot of embarrassment in our hometown (by means of having to explain the situation to people who ask, almost eveywhere we go). Both parties have also opened a Hotmail account in my four year old sons name. They had the audacity to send me e cards from this account in the name of my son. I have contacted Hotmail and MSN and asked them to please delete the account because my child did not open it (he is only four years old and can't even read yet). They replied saying that they could not close the account unless I faxed them a photo ID of my son. Now, that is rather ridiculous because I know of no four year old who has a photo ID. As far as I know, the account is still active. I have saved to draft, every e mail that I have received from all parties involved, for proof.
My sister in laws boyfriend even took the liberty to involve his father in all of this. After e mailing his father and asking him to please stop his son from harrassing my family any further, he told me to "get a lawyer".
What I need to know as soon as possible is this: does this constitute as slander and/or harrassment in the state of Pennsylvania? Can I obtain a PFA against the parties involved on behalf of my children, even though there is no physical threat to my children? I have heard about "gag orders", what are they? Can I obtain one? How do I go about it? Is there anything I can do, legally, to stop them from doing this?
I know this is a very childish situation, and it pains me to know that I may be sinking to their level. But it is my job to advocate for my children. If anyone out there can offer any advice, please do so immediately. I receive e mails from these people almost on a daily basis, and I am losing my patience even quicker. Thank you for taking the time to read my post, any information you may have is very much appreciated.
czanne