You can press charges for bullying in the sense that matters: you can report the conduct to police, and if it violates a criminal law, a prosecutor can charge the person responsible. Bullying itself isn’t a standalone crime under federal law, and most states don’t have a criminal statute called “bullying.” But the behavior behind it — harassment, threats, assault, stalking, cyberstalking — is criminal in every state, and those are the laws prosecutors use.1StopBullying.gov. Laws, Policies and Regulations
Who Actually Decides to File Charges
“Pressing charges” is one of the most misunderstood phrases in criminal law. Victims don’t decide whether someone gets charged with a crime. What you can do is file a police report. Law enforcement investigates, and if the evidence supports it, the case goes to a prosecutor. The prosecutor decides whether to file formal charges based on the strength of the evidence, public interest, and the likelihood of conviction.
This matters in both directions. Even if you report bullying and want charges filed, the prosecutor might decline. And a prosecutor can pursue a case even if you later change your mind about cooperating, though victim cooperation usually makes prosecution far more likely. Your role is to report, provide evidence, and cooperate with investigators.
Criminal Laws That Cover Bullying Conduct
Because there’s no general federal bullying crime, prosecutors reach for statutes that fit the specific harmful behavior. The right charge depends on what the bully actually did.
- Harassment. Most jurisdictions criminalize repeated, unwanted contact intended to alarm, annoy, or cause emotional distress. This covers in-person confrontations, phone calls, texts, and online messages, and it’s the most common criminal avenue for bullying cases.
- Assault and battery. When bullying turns physical, assault covers threats of harm that put the victim in reasonable fear of being hurt, and battery covers actual physical contact. Serious injuries can push the charge up to felony aggravated assault.
- Stalking and cyberstalking. Persistent patterns of bullying, especially online, may qualify as stalking. Federal law makes it a crime to use electronic communications to engage in conduct that places someone in reasonable fear of death or serious injury, or that causes substantial emotional distress. Most states have their own stalking and cyberstalking statutes as well.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261A – Stalking
- Criminal threats. Directly threatening to kill or seriously injure someone is a crime in every state, whether or not the threat is carried out. Written threats sent by text or social media are generally treated the same as verbal ones.
Hate Crime Enhancements
When bullying targets someone because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability, federal hate crime laws may apply on top of the underlying offense. Under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a person who causes bodily injury motivated by bias against these characteristics faces up to 10 years in federal prison, or life imprisonment if the crime results in death or involves kidnapping or sexual assault.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 249 – Hate Crime Acts The FBI investigates hate crimes involving bias based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or sexual orientation.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Hate Crimes Many states add their own hate crime enhancements when bias motivates an offense.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying that involves threats of violence, stalking, sexually explicit images of a minor, or secretly recording someone where they expect privacy crosses into criminal territory and should be reported to law enforcement.5StopBullying.gov. Report Cyberbullying The federal cyberstalking statute reaches anyone who uses the internet or electronic communications to harass or intimidate another person when the conduct causes reasonable fear of serious harm or substantial emotional distress.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261A – Stalking Many states also treat certain forms of cyberbullying as criminal under their own harassment or stalking laws.
How to Report Bullying to Policeh2>
The process starts with the victim, or a parent or guardian if the victim is a minor, contacting local law enforcement. You can walk into a police station, call the non-emergency line, or in urgent situations call 911. When you file the report, give every detail you can: what happened, when and where, who was involved, and what evidence you have. The officer creates a formal incident report, which becomes the foundation for any investigation.
For physical bullying, police may act quickly when there’s probable cause — visible injuries, witness statements, or video footage — and can arrest the perpetrator on the spot. For harassment or cyberbullying, the investigation usually takes longer. Officers gather witness statements, review digital communications, and assess whether the conduct meets the threshold for criminal charges under applicable statutes. If it does, the case goes to the local prosecutor’s office for a charging decision.
Even if the prosecutor declines to file charges, the report itself creates an official record. That record can support a later civil lawsuit, a protective order application, or a school’s disciplinary investigation. Filing is never wasted effort.
Evidence That Makes a Case Stick
Bullying cases succeed or fail on evidence, and the biggest mistake victims make is not preserving it early enough. Start documenting the moment bullying begins, even if you’re not yet sure you want to involve law enforcement.
For physical bullying, the most persuasive evidence includes medical records documenting injuries, photographs taken immediately after incidents, and any video or surveillance footage. School incident reports and nurse visit records can corroborate a pattern. For cyberbullying, screenshots are essential. Capture the sender’s username, the message content, timestamps, and the platform. Don’t just screenshot the message itself; capture the full conversation thread and any profile information. Online content disappears quickly, so preserve it the day you see it.
Keep a written log noting the date, time, location, what happened, and who witnessed each incident. Contemporaneous records carry real weight in court because they’re harder to dismiss than months-old memories. Witness accounts from teachers, classmates, coworkers, or bystanders add credibility, especially when several people describe the same pattern. In some cases, expert testimony from a psychologist about the emotional or psychological impact on the victim can influence both criminal sentencing and civil damage awards.
Protective Orders for Ongoing Bullying
If the bullying is continuing and you need immediate protection, a court-issued protective order (sometimes called a restraining order) may be available. These orders legally prohibit the bully from contacting you, coming near your home or workplace, or continuing the harassing behavior. Violating a protective order is typically a separate criminal offense, which gives the order real force.
The process generally works in two stages. First, you can request a temporary order, often granted the same day based on your sworn statement alone, without the other person present. Second, a hearing is scheduled where both sides can present their case, and the judge decides whether to issue a longer-term order. Longer-term orders typically last one to two years and can sometimes be renewed. Many jurisdictions charge no filing fee for protective orders in cases involving threats or harassment.
The type of order you need depends on your relationship with the bully. Orders involving family members or dating partners are handled under domestic violence statutes, while orders involving classmates, neighbors, or coworkers fall under civil harassment laws. Filing the wrong type can force you to start over, so check your local court’s self-help resources or ask a court clerk before filing.
What Happens if Prosecutors Won’t Charge
A civil lawsuit is an independent path that doesn’t depend on whether criminal charges are filed. Civil cases focus on compensating the victim rather than punishing the defendant, and they require a lower standard of proof. Criminal prosecutors must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In civil court, you only need to show that your version of events is more likely true than not, a standard called preponderance of the evidence. That lower bar means civil claims can succeed even when criminal charges are declined or the defendant is acquitted.
The most common civil claims in bullying cases are:
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress. You must prove the conduct was extreme and outrageous, not just rude or mean, but behavior so far beyond the bounds of decency that a reasonable person would find it intolerable. You also need to show the conduct was intentional or reckless and caused you severe emotional distress. Repeated, targeted harassment campaigns clear this bar more readily than isolated incidents.
- Assault and battery. Physical bullying supports civil claims that mirror the criminal offenses but seek compensation. You can recover medical costs, therapy expenses, and damages for pain and suffering.
- Defamation. If the bullying included spreading false statements that damaged your reputation — rumors about criminal behavior, false accusations, or fabricated stories shared publicly — a defamation claim may be viable.
Damages in a successful civil case can include reimbursement for medical bills and therapy costs, compensation for lost wages or educational disruption, and monetary awards for pain, suffering, and emotional harm. Attorney fees are substantial, so weigh the expected recovery against the cost of litigation before committing to a lawsuit.
Parental Liability When the Bully Is a Minor
When a child bullies another child, nearly every state has a parental responsibility statute that can hold parents civilly liable for their minor child’s intentional harmful acts. The details vary. Most states cap what parents owe at a fixed dollar amount, and those caps are often surprisingly low, ranging from under $1,000 in some states to $25,000 or more in others. A handful of states impose no cap at all.
Beyond the statutory caps, parents may face additional common-law liability if they knew their child had a tendency toward violence or harassment and failed to intervene. In those situations, the cap often doesn’t apply, and a court can award full compensatory damages. That’s the theory that carries real financial risk for parents who ignore warning signs about their child’s behavior.
Restitution Through the Criminal Case
If the case does result in a conviction, criminal courts can order the defendant to pay restitution. In federal cases, restitution can cover medical and therapy costs, psychiatric and psychological care, physical rehabilitation, and income lost because of the crime.6GovInfo. 18 USC 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes Most states have similar restitution statutes. Restitution doesn’t cover pain and suffering, which is what civil lawsuits are for, but it can offset the financial cost of recovery.7United States Department of Justice. Restitution Process
Deadlines That Can End Your Case
Every legal claim has a deadline. Missing it means losing the right to pursue it entirely, no matter how strong the underlying facts are. These deadlines — statutes of limitations — vary based on whether you’re pursuing criminal charges or a civil lawsuit, the type of offense or claim, and the jurisdiction.
For misdemeanor offenses like harassment, criminal statutes of limitations typically run one to three years. Felony offenses like aggravated assault generally have longer windows, often three to five years or more. Because the prosecutor controls the charging timeline, your job is to report the conduct to law enforcement as promptly as possible so investigators can work while evidence is fresh.
Civil statutes of limitations for claims like intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, battery, or defamation typically run one to three years from the date of the last incident, depending on the jurisdiction and the type of claim. Some states are more generous; others are strict. Missing the deadline by a single day can end the case.
One critical rule many families miss: when the victim is a minor, the statute of limitations is typically tolled, meaning the clock doesn’t start running until the child turns 18. A child bullied at age 12 doesn’t lose the right to file a civil lawsuit at age 15 because a three-year deadline passed. The full limitations period begins at 18. This tolling rule applies in most states, though the specifics vary. Talking to an attorney early is the safest way to confirm what deadlines apply and make sure no right slips away.