Fayetteville woman backs CREEP Act after years of stalking fight

Melissa Patnella of Fayetteville turned years of fear into a statewide policy win, helping push the CREEP Act through the Legislature after she said the legal system left her without the protection she needed. The bill would let stalking victims seek civil anti-stalking protections before a criminal case is filed, a change supporters say could matter for Central New York families facing harassment that has not yet led to charges.

Patnella’s fight began after she met the man through work in 2022. The stalking escalated, and he was arrested in 2023, but delays in the criminal process meant she still did not have the kind of protection she believed she needed. She said she was often told to simply accept the way things were, and that experience helped drive her to keep pressing for a law that gives victims an earlier route to safety.

The CREEP Act is aimed at what advocates describe as a loophole in New York’s stalking law. Under the proposal, victims would not have to wait for prosecutors to file a criminal case before asking for civil anti-stalking relief. Supporters say that could give police, prosecutors and courts a clearer tool in cases where stalking behavior is real and damaging, but the criminal process has not yet caught up.

The measure passed both the state Senate and Assembly last week after stalling in 2025, and Patnella called the outcome a relief after trying not to get her hopes up during the process. If the governor signs the bill, the law would expand options for victims across New York, especially in cases that do not fit neatly into family or intimate-partner categories. For Onondaga County residents, Patnella’s case shows how a Fayetteville woman’s personal ordeal could reshape the protections available to future stalking victims across Central New York.