- Know your rights: Read the United States Constitution
- East Cleveland Municipal Court—eccourt.com
- Police Department
- Cuyahoga County Witness Victim Service Center—support, advocates, and resources for crime victims
- First steps after becoming a crime victim
- East Cleveland Domestic/Family Violence Division
- Obtaining a Protection Order
- Your rights as a crime victim in Ohio
- Picking Up the Pieces: Helping Crime Victims Rebuild Their Lives (PDF, 2MB)
From the Office of the Ohio Attorney General - Learn about stalking. It means more than being followed.
For Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Assault
SurvivorSpace.org—for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse
1in6.org—for men who have survived sexual abuse or assault
First Steps After Becoming a Crime Victim
Learn your rights as a crime victim.
File a police report in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred as soon as possible after the incident. Write down the name of the officer who takes your report and keep it for your records.
If some time has passed since the incident occurred, still file a report. If officers tell you it is too late to file a police report, they are incorrect. Videotape the officer giving you this misinformation. Insist on filing the report.
Take a photo of your written crime report AND of your East Cleveland Police Department CAD ticket AND of your prosecutor complaint (if you make one). Keep these photos as proof that you made a report and filed a complaint with the prosecutor (if you do).
Complete an intake and meet with a Cuyahoga County Witness Victim Service Center victim advocate by:
Calling 216-443-7345 or
Visiting the Family Justice Center: 75 Erieview Plaza, 5th Floor, Cleveland, OH 44114. You do not have to be a victim of a family member to use the Center’s services.
East Cleveland Domestic/Family Violence Division
From eccourt.com/12.html
Director
Deborah Black
Phone: (216) 249-1522
Advocate
Jacqueline Harris-El Green
Phone: (216) 249-1522
Mission
The East Cleveland Domestic/Family Violence Division’s mission is to break the cycle of domestic violence. Domestic violence is learned behavior that affects the entire family. This behavior can be unlearned by teaching new coping skills.
Through educating and building self-esteem, we empower victims to be silent no more, to speak out and take action. We hold their abusers accountable for their actions as we educate them, providing them with non-violent ways to express their anger.
Our goal is to heal the entire family so that the family can be made whole; providing a safe and happy home for our children, and a safer community.
For a child imitates what he/she sees.
Obtaining a Protection Order
Ohiolegalhelp.org has an online tool that explains the difference between a Civil Stalking Protection Order (for non-sexual offenses) and a Sexually Oriented Offense Protection Order. The tool provides step-by-step instructions on how to file for a protection order. It’s here.
Your Rights as a Crime Victim in Ohio
According to Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2930 | Victim’s Rights, you have legal rights as a crime victim in Ohio. They start as soon as you become a victim. Police officers and prosecutors are supposed to tell you what these rights are the first time they talk to you. Some of the rights are automatic. Some rights you must ask for.
Download the PDF of the Ohio Victim’s Rights Request here. Read its text below on this webpage. Print the PDF of the form and fill it out. Keep a copy for your records. Give the completed form to law enforcement and the prosecutor. Keep a record of when you turned it in and the name of the person(s) you gave it to.
As a crime victim in Cuyahoga County, if you need help understanding your rights, contact the Cuyahoga County Witness Victim Service Center and ask for an advocate who can explain them to you. This is what the PDF of the Ohio Victim’s Rights Request Form says:
Ohio Victims’ Rights Request Form
As a victim of crime, you have constitutionally protected rights. Some rights are automatic. Some rights require your request.
This form provides important information about your rights. This form is NOT a public record.
If you are a victim of an offense of violence, a sexually oriented offense, or a protection order violation, law enforcement will review this form with you and ask you to complete it so that criminal justice officials know which rights you wish to exercise. Law enforcement will provide you a copy of the form.
These rights also apply to victims of all other criminal offenses. Law enforcement will provide victims of all other offenses information on how to access the form online or will provide a printed form upon request.
Complete the form and provide it to the law enforcement agency that is investigating your case. Keep a copy for your records.
Requesting and Enforcing Your Rights
This form provides a list of rights that must be requested if you wish to exercise them. It is your choice. You may exercise all, some, or none of your rights.
Please note:
If you are a victim of a violation of a protection order, an offense of violence, or a sexually oriented offense, and you do not complete the form or request your rights at first contact with law enforcement, you will be automatically opted in to all “upon request” rights until you opt out or are contacted by the prosecutor. Once contacted by a prosecutor, you must request your rights in order to exercise them.
You may change your mind at any time about which rights you choose to exercise. However, if you choose not to exercise some rights and request them later, you may give up rights that only apply during certain stages of the case.
To change your selections, you must call, email, or complete a new form and return it to the investigating officer, prosecutor, court, prison, jail, or community-based correctional facility so officials have updated information.
You can obtain another Victims’ Rights Request Form at ocvjc.org or by calling 614-848-8500.
If any of your rights are denied, you may:
- Ask an advocate or prosecutor for help
- Seek enforcement on your own
- Hire an attorney
- Request free legal assistance from the Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center at ocvjc.org/request-for-assistance or by calling 614-848-8500
An online resource to help you understand and exercise your rights is the Victims’ Rights Toolkit at ocvjc.org/victimsrights-toolkit.
Appointing a Victim Representative
You may choose to exercise your rights yourself and/or appoint a representative to exercise your rights on your behalf. A representative may be anyone other than the defendant.
You may choose, change, or remove a representative at any time.
Privacy and Safety
You may be eligible for a protection order. The investigating officer will provide available resources to assist you.
You may request redaction (removal) of your name, address, and identifying information from public records related to this case. This request does not apply to crash reports submitted to the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
To request redaction of a crash report, send a separate request including your name, crash date, and location to the Ohio Department of Public Safety by:
- Email: traffstats@dps.ohio.gov
- Phone: 614-466-3536
You may be able to keep your address private by obtaining a Safe at Home address. Learn more at safeathomeohio.gov or call 614-995-2255.
If the defendant, the defendant’s attorney, or anyone acting on their behalf contacts you, requests an interview, or attempts to obtain information from you, you have the right to refuse. Immediately notify the prosecutor. You may also contact ocvjc.org/request-for-assistance or call 614-848-8500.
You may receive notifications of a defendant’s release or escape from jail or prison by registering at vinelink.com.
Arraignment
Arraignment is a hearing that may occur within a few days after the defendant is charged.
If you request notification, law enforcement will notify you of the defendant’s arrest and provide a phone number for the court clerk to obtain arraignment details.
During arraignment, the judge decides whether to release the defendant on bond, sets bond conditions, and determines whether to issue a protection order.
You have the right to attend the arraignment and tell the judge about safety concerns and your views regarding release, bond conditions, and protection orders.
Compensation and Restitution
Crime Victim Compensation Fund
You may be eligible for reimbursement of certain financial losses related to the crime, even if no arrest or conviction has occurred.
Apply at ohioattorneygeneral.gov or call 800-582-2877.
Restitution
If the offender is convicted, the court must order restitution for certain financial losses. Keep records of all expenses related to the crime so the court can determine restitution amounts.
Additional information is available at supremecourt.ohio.gov.
Case Information
Report Number
Case Number
Reporting Agency and County
Reporting Officer and Badge Number
Reporting Agency Phone
Defendant or Suspect Name
Charges
Arraignment Date, Time, and Location
Automatic Rights (No Request Required)
You automatically have the right to:
- Be informed of your rights
- Be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect for your safety and privacy
- Reasonable protection from the accused
- Information about the status of the case
- Refuse defense interviews or discovery requests
- Object to access to confidential or personal information
- Be present at public proceedings
- Have a support person present
- Be heard regarding release, plea, sentencing, and parole
- Object to unreasonable delays
- Full and timely restitution
Rights That Must Be Requested
You may choose to request the following rights:
- Redaction of your name, address, and identifying information from law enforcement, prosecutor, and court records
- Notice of arrest, escape, or release of the offender
- Notice of all public proceedings
- Notice of subpoenas or requests for your personal information
- Appointment of a victim representative
- Consultation with the prosecutor at key stages of the case
- Interpretation services
- Foreign language interpreter
- American Sign Language interpreter
Victim Information
Victim name
Date form provided
Email
Phone
Address
Preferred method of contact: mail, phone, email
Best time and method to reach you
Victim Representative (If Applicable)
Representative name
Email
Phone
Address
If you do not wish to receive notices, they may be sent to your representative.
Business Victim Option
If you are representing a business, you may opt out of the business’s victims’ rights in this and future cases unless you notify law enforcement, the prosecutor, or the court otherwise.
Print the PDF of the above Ohio Crime Victims’ Rights Request form here.
Stalking: It means more than being followed
Stalking isn’t just when someone is following you. Anyone can become a stalking victim. It’s not always related to domestic violence. The stalker isn’t always a former partner of the victim or seeks an intimate relationship with them. Here is how Ohio law defines stalking:
“No person by engaging in a pattern of conduct shall knowingly cause another person to believe that the offender will cause physical harm to the other person or a family or household member of the other person or cause mental distress to the other person or a family or household member of the other person. In addition to any other basis for the other person’s belief that the offender will cause physical harm to the other person or the other person’s family or household member or mental distress to the other person or the other person’s family or household member, the other person’s belief or mental distress may be based on words or conduct of the offender that are directed at or identify a corporation, association, or other organization that employs the other person or to which the other person belong…”
“Whoever violates this section is guilty of menacing by stalking.”
Read the entire law: Ohio Revised Code Section 2903.211 | Menacing by stalking
Seven Types of Stalkers
From youtube.com/@DrawItOut-10
The following list describing seven types of stalkers doesn’t include cyber and workplace stalking like the video does. For numbers 6 and 7, it describes political and hit man stalkers instead.
- Rejected: Stalks to reverse a breakup, divorce, or rejection, often by a former partner.
- Intimacy-Seeking: Desperate for a loving relationship, sometimes delusional (erotomania), targeting strangers or acquaintances.
- Incompetent Suitor: Lacks social skills but feels entitled to a relationship, often targeting those already dating someone.
- Resentful: Seeks revenge for a perceived wrong, wanting to frighten and distress the victim.
- Predatory: Spies to plan a sexual or other violent attack, a small but dangerous group.
- Political: Motivated by political or ideological beliefs.
- Hit man or hired stalker: Has been hired or pressured by someone else to threaten, injure, or kill the victim.
From:
Mullen, P.E., Pathé, M., Purcell, R. & Stuart, G.W. (1999). Study of stalkers. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156(8), 1244–1249. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.156.8.1244
Fighterlaw.com, “7 Different Types of Stalkers“
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