When stop isn't enough

What do you do when someone you don't want around your children continues to show up everywhere you are? If they only live two miles from your house how do you feel safe bringing your children to the grocery store?

We have family members that were once part of our lives that are no longer considered family. They threatened to hit our children and continuously put our oldest in dangerous situations. When a son's feelings and point of view aren't enough to stop and they continue to threaten there aren't many alternatives left. We had to tell them if they couldn't agree to seeing our children at our house under our conditions then visitation wouldn't exist for them anymore. They chose not to see them. They still five years later feel we wronged them for not wanting our children hit like their own children were.

Today while playing with the girls outside Syd's school I was confronted yet again with this past I'd rather just forget. We were walking the puppy and playing while we waited for Sydney to get out of school. I noticed a car crawling next to us and I turned to look. It was someone from the past. She looked the other way when I saw her and sped off. It's not the first time I've seen her in my inner sanctum. I've spotted her driving by our house, trying to peek in to my truck in the parking lot to see my children, or coming too close in a grocery store when I wasn't looking. How do I protect my children from this? Is she a threat to their physical and emotional state? Or only their emotional? Is she even considered a threat to the younger ones if they have never met her? What if Sydney was with us and recognized her?

I know there are stalker laws in place in our state, but does it need that? Am I protecting their rights without reason?

I have a lot to think about tonight.