These days, it's common to meet someone through online dating platforms like Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, or any of the others. The process is simple enough: swipe right to match with someone you find attractive. From there, you engage in a back-and-forth through digital messaging. Unfortunately, things can take a dark turn, though.

What happens when that one-night stand goes awry? What happens if you DM your love interest one too many times? Emotions can get the best of you in the short amount of time it takes to discover you're attracted to someone. Miscommunication or unchecked feelings can send the wrong message, and you could get hit with a restraining order.

What Constitutes Harassment?

It's a mistake to believe a restraining order is only sought in cases of physical violence. In addition to physical violence, someone could take a NJ restraining order out against you if they claim you committed any number of acts. Grounds for restraining orders include:

• Harassment
• Stalking
• Sexual assault
• Cyberstalking

In cases of online dating, It can be difficult to understand where that line of harassment is drawn. Since interactions take place digitally, the accused may not realize they're causing any harm to the victim. Harassment and stalking don't need to occur in person to be considered menacing enough to justify a restraining order. Cyberbullying and cyberstalking are even cyber harassment are crimes in New Jersey and can qualify as offenses that warrant a restraining order.

What to Expect If You're Hit with a Restraining Order

If you're hit with a restraining order in New Jersey, there are some basic things you need to know. Too many individuals think they don't need to sweat their RO because they don't plan to see their accuser again. That thinking is short-sighted. Restraining Orders go beyond your relationship with your accuser, and even if you have no plans to meet up with that one-night stand again, you will still face significant collateral consequences.

If a New Jersey restraining order is taken out against you, you might face issues with:

• Securing employment
• Keeping your current job
• Finding housing
• Qualifying for certain loans
• Owning guns

At the end of the day, you could go your entire life without having to see your accuser again, but the impact of a restraining order reaches much farther.

Contact a New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney

If you've been hit with a New Jersey restraining order, you need to contact an experienced criminal defense attorney right away. Whether you think it's a big deal or not, it is. Criminal Defense Attorney Joseph D. Lento and his Criminal Defense Team will help you understand how best to proceed after a RO has been taken out against you. To learn more, call 888-535-3686 today, or contact us online.