Riley Bennett Egloff Magazine January 2019 | Page 14

Who May Obtain a
Protective Order?
Originally Published November 2018
By: Eric M. Hylton, RBE Attorney
W
hat should you do if you are being
harassed, threatened, intimidated
or frightened by the actions of a parent, a
student, a co-worker, or a member of the
public? One option is to get a protective
order against that individual. Indiana
law is very specific on who can obtain a
protective order.
Pursuant to Indiana Code 34-26-5-2(a), a person
who is or has been a victim of domestic or family
violence may file for a petition for a protective
order against: (1) a family member or household
member who commits an act of domestic
or family violence; or (2) a person who has
committed stalking under Ind. Code 35-45-10-5
or a sex offense under Ind. Code 35-42-4 against
the person filing the petition (the “petitioner”).
Domestic violence includes stalking, whether or
not the stalking was committed by a family or
household member. 1 This review looks at non-
family and non-sex offense situations where an
individual must demonstrate that he or she is the
victim of stalking.
repeated or continuing harassment of another
person that would cause a reasonable person
to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or
threatened and that actually causes the victim
to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or
threatened.” 2 “Harassment” means “conduct
directed toward a victim that includes but is not
limited to repeated or continuing impermissible
contact that would cause a reasonable person
to suffer emotional distress and that actually
causes the victim to suffer emotional distress.” 3
The term “repeated” in Indiana’s anti-stalking
law means “more than once.” 4
Further,
“continuing” is commonly defined as
“uninterrupted; persisting,” and includes “not
just current, but future activity.” 5
In a case involving Seymour Community
Schools, on the first day of the 2017 school
year, S.B. (a parent of an enrolled student) stood
on a public sidewalk immediately adjacent to
Seymour Middle School and held a sign that
read, “WE PROTECT PEDOPHILES.” The
parent also had a handgun holstered on his
“Stalking” is defined as “a knowing or an right hip which he was licensed to carry. The
intentional course of conduct involving day before his protest, the parent had called
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Riley Bennett Egloff LLP - January 2019