My question involves defamation in the state of: Florida
My brother is a horrible person. He is ten years older than me. My childhood consisted of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of my brother and my father. My brother is a liar and a thief. My father also is an adept manipulator of the legal system; I'm sure my brother learned everything he knows from my father. Suffice to say my childhood and young adult years were made hell on Earth due to my father and brother.
A few years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer at a relatively young age. My brother took this opportunity to send me a few letters telling me, "I hope you die of breast cancer". 10 years prior in 1998, my brother had sent another nasty letter to my home address. (I never gave him my home address, so I was freaked out at the invasion of privacy). I promptly wrote my brother a letter telling him to NEVER to contact me again. He didn't contact me for about 10 years, but then when I was diagnosed with cancer the harassing letters started again. This was in 2008.
I live in California and my brother lives in Florida, so I've never felt endangered by his letters. I was extremely ticked off, however. My brother was sending me letters telling me he hoped I'd die, and he just gets away with it?! I told my parents about the letters. My father couldn't care less, because he was saying the same words to me, i.e., "You're going to die of breast cancer". My mother has some sympathy for me, but my father controls her emotionally and financially. I have one other brother who is nice, but he lives 500 miles away.
In retrospect, I suppose I should have taken the letters to the cops. But my mind just does not work that deviously. "I hope you die of cancer" is a despicable thing to write to someone, but I don't believe it's a direct threat. And given that my brother is 3,000 miles away, I didn't fear violence. Most importantly, both my dad and my mom told me, "Just let it go. Just put it aside". I took their advice, but simmered inside. I was so caught up in going through cancer treatment that it wasn't that hard to just "put aside" the letters at that time.
I've battled cancer and chronic pain. I've also suffered financially due to the money that my brother stole.
I finally decided to let my brother have a piece of my mind. I haven't spoken to him or seen him since 1994. My only prior contact was my 1998 letter telling him to leave me alone, which he laughed at! (I learned of this through my mother).
A letter expressing a lifetime of anger is not going to be pretty, but in no way did I ever threaten my brother. I simply insulted him. I told him he's pedophile scum, etc. (He arranged to have me raped when I was a teen). My brother is so pathetic that he had to travel all the way to the Phillipines to find a "mail order bride" because no woman in America wanted anything to do with him. He basically bought a prostitute over there. I told him this in the letter. It's a fact. I also told him he's a thief because he stole and sold my parents' home out from under us (long story). My parents are having financial troubles, and he couldn't care less. (My parents paid ALL his college costs, grad school, "gave" him a half million dollar house, etc.).
My brother did not leave home until he was 33 years old. He used my father for money and my mother as a maid, then as soon as he'd ordered his mail order bride, he turned around and sold the home my parents had owned since before he was even born. He threw his mom and sister (me) into the street. I'll never understand why my father still defends my brother after all this, but he does. My father hates me and has always been abusive to me and my mom.
Fast forward to TODAY: My father told me that upon receiving my letter, my brother had filed a police report in Florida. (Knowing my dad, my father was assisting my brother every step of the way.
My father has a LONG history of abusing the legal and police systems and lying to the authorities. Unfortunately, I think that my father's history of lies against me has destroyed my credibility. My father even boasted about this particular "victory". 20 years ago, my dad told horrible lies about me to the cops and had me 5150'd. I was still living at home, so apparently I had ZERO RIGHTS. Actually, my father threatened and bribed the local police and psychiatrists. I don't know how I'll ever get my reputation back after that HELL.
I can only imagine the CRAP that my brother and my father told the local police in Florida. My dad is such a liar! My dad told me he was "staying out of it", yet my dad knew EVERY detail as it unfolded.
Two weeks went by and I heard nothing from any authorities, so I figured that the cops had better things to do and I wouldn't be hearing from them. After all, I did NOT threaten my brother in any way, shape, or form. I simply insulted him. 2 letters in 20 years is "harassment"?! ON what planet?
But today when I awoke there was a message on my answering machine from the police in Florida. (I'm 3,000 miles away, in California). On the message, a female police officer told me that my brother filed a police report for "harassing comminications". She said the reason she was calling was to inform me that if I ever contacted my brother again via mail, phone, email, Facebook----I would face "criminal charges"! The whole thing was so surreal, like a nightmare. I was in tears.
My father called me up soon afterwards, gloating. My dad tried to pretend that he knew NOTHING, which was total B.S., because my dad never even calls me. I did NOT put a return address on the letter, so I don't understand how the cops concluded that *I* was the sender. How was an anonymous letter traced back to me? (I'm well aware of fingerprints and DNA, but I seriously doubt that a small police dept. would spend the money needed for those tests. Besides, they'd need my fingerprints and a DNA sample from me.) My dad acted like the police had done those tests, which I think is total bull.
I feel like I'm being framed for something I didn't do. YES, I sent a letter, but there was nothing wrong with it. I was just expressing my feelings, unless THAT is suddenly ILLEGAL in the USA? (For all I know, my brother added something to the letter). I'm fairly sure that my brother and father told the police horrible lies about me, because they both did that 20 years ago. Send an anonymous letter and get a call from the cops?! What, anyone can just say, "Hey, my sister lives in that city in Calif. I hate her, so she's the one who wrote it"!
Express your feelings to your brother and get a call from police threatening "criminal charges" if you ever contact him again?! How sick is that? ONE letter in 20 years is "harassment"?! BTW, I did NOT keep the letters from my brother telling me he hoped I'd die of cancer! I suppose I should have, but I was so scared that I might die that I didn't want to save those awful letters! I tore them up and put them in the trash. I only kept one envelope to prove my brother had contacted me. I feel like once again I have ZERO RIGHTS. The abusers keep abusing, and the victim remains a victim. I can't afford to hire a lawyer. Even I didn't think my brother would stoop so low as to call the cops on his own sister, but I suppose I should have!
Please, if anyone has any advice I'd greatly appreciate it. Why am I being targeted by the cops when I didn't threaten my brother? I'd always heard that when people are actually threatened or harassed by someone that the cops don't do anything about it! All I did was INSULT my brother----is that illegal? Thanks. Has anyone else been through anything similar?

