Domestic violence
A domestic violence restraining order is a Court order issued to prevent the recurrence of acts of abuse by a batterer. Under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, abuse is defined as any of the following:
- Intentionally or recklessly causing or attempting to cause bodily injury
- Sexual assault
- Placing a person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury to that person or to another
- Engaging in any behavior that has been or could be enjoined such as molesting, attacking, striking, stalking, threatening, battering, harassing, telephoning, destroying personal property, contacting the other by mail or otherwise, disturbing the peace of the other party.
The batterer must be:
- A spouse
- An ex-spouse
- A boyfriend or girlfriend
- An ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend
- A person the victim is dating or has dated
- An immediate family member (mother, father, in-laws, siblings, adult children, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter)
- A person the victim has children together
Temporary Restraining Orders (TRO) under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA) may have immediate consequences for both the party served and the party requesting the order. If you need more information on domestic violence restraining orders, have been served with a Temporary Restraining Order, or need to have someone restrained due to domestic violence then contact the Law Offices of Matthew J. Gonsalves.