When Closure Becomes a Crime: The Fine Line Between Grief and Harassment on Campus

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When Closure Becomes a Crime: The Fine Line Between Grief and Harassment on Campus

By JB Quinnon

Breakups are rarely clean. For college students navigating young adulthood, emotional attachments can become overwhelming, and the search for closure can lead to choices with serious consequences.

At one Ohio university, a situation between two students—Kendall and Dylan—illustrates how post-relationship communication can spiral into legal territory. What began as a typical college breakup evolved into a formal police investigation, and eventually, criminal charges.

According to Kendall, she and Dylan had been broken up for about a month. After sporadic communication and a final decision to block him on social media and messaging apps, Dylan reached out via email to talk. Kendall agreed to meet, hoping for a moment of reconciliation.

The conversation didn’t go as she imagined.

Kendall reported that Dylan began yelling and forced her out of his truck, tossing her backpack onto the ground. She walked away and later called her mother, who advised her to document the encounter. Kendall told campus police this wasn’t the first time Dylan had exhibited what she called “outlashes.”

But what followed next would shift the focus of the investigation entirely.

Dylan told police that Kendall continued reaching out—by text, phone calls, and even through friends and family. He provided screenshots and voicemails as evidence, claiming she had contacted his aunt, his sister, and even appeared outside of his classes. In his view, her behavior wasn’t about closure—it was harassment.

Campus police had already warned Kendall days earlier that her visits to Dylan’s class buildings, combined with continued communication from alternate phones, constituted a legal risk. Despite saying she wanted no further contact, she showed up again—this time caught on surveillance and intercepted by officers.

Officers explained that while emotional distress is understandable, continued unwanted contact after being told to stop can violate Ohio laws around telecommunications harassment and menacing by stalking. The latter charge is especially serious—it can result in arrest, a permanent record, and expulsion from any public university in the state for three years.

Kendall expressed remorse. She said she was emotionally overwhelmed and didn’t realize the legal weight of her actions. “I just wanted closure,” she told officers. She had even scheduled a mental health appointment, which police encouraged.

Dylan initially declined to press charges, but changed his mind after receiving yet another message from Kendall—this time an email, days after their last warning. That was the final straw.

“I think she just can’t let go,” Dylan told officers, “but this is starting to mess with my head.”

With evidence of repeated unwanted contact and witness accounts from university staff, Dylan moved forward with a menacing by stalking complaint.

This case reflects a growing concern on college campuses: when one person’s emotional coping becomes another’s distress—and when attempts at closure cross into criminal behavior. Universities now find themselves balancing compassion with accountability, offering mental health resources while enforcing boundaries.

It’s a reminder that breakups are not just emotional events—they can become legal ones. And in the age of digital communication, no message is ever “just one more.”

Takeaway:

Respect for boundaries, both physical and digital, is critical after a relationship ends. No matter how deeply someone feels, continuing unwanted contact after being told to stop can result in life-altering consequences.