Hi Amy,

My question pertains to the rights of victims of violent crimes to keep their privacy intact.  I was harassed during and after my divorce from my violent ex and have relocated, changed phone numbers, bank accounts and finally moved far enough away that all he and his new partner can do is use all the personal information they easily acquired on me via the internet to torture me from afar.  Is there anyway we can remove our personal information from websites like Intellius.com and the like?  

It seems like we have a right to keep our name out of the media if we wish and we can put Jane Doe on our court documents but all my ex has to do to mess with me is stay in hiding to keep from paying his child support, and use his pawn-chick to defame me via the internet.

Any suggestions on what I can do, or what laws are out there to help?

Sorry to hear about your situation. I actually don't know what rights you might have. I imagine that if you have an unlisted number than you can better protect your anonymity, at least it seems like you would have grounds to challenge anyone who exposed your privacy. The internet is so tricky because it automatically supersedes State laws and thus I'm not sure how this can be handled. I would suggest reaching out to the National Coalition Against Domestic Abuse or the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and other groups who specialize in this area. It's likely that they have had some experience in successfully protecting people's identity.

Good luck,

-- Amy