On September 18, 2024 “An Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation” will become law in the Baystate.
The law drastically expands the restraining order law’s definition of abuse.
The new definition of abuse includes non-violent “coercive control” which the statute describes as follows:
(a) a pattern of behavior intended to threaten, intimidate, harass, isolate, control, coerce or compel compliance of a family or household member that causes that family or household member to reasonably fear physical harm or have a reduced sense of physical safety or autonomy, including, but not limited to:
- (i) isolating the family or household member from friends, relatives or other sources of support,
- (ii) depriving the family or household member of basic needs;
- (iii) controlling, regulating or monitoring the family or household member’s activities, communications, movements, finances, economic resources or access to services, including through technological means;
- (iv) compelling a family or household member to abstain from or engage in a specific behavior or activity, including engaging in criminal activity;
- (v) threatening to harm a child or relative of the family or household member;
- (vi) threatening to commit cruelty or abuse to an animal connected to the family or household member;
- (vii) intentionally damaging property belonging to the family or household member;
- (viii) threatening to publish sensitive personal information relating to the family or household member, including sexually explicit images; or
- (ix) using repeated court actions found by a court not to be warranted by existing law or good faith argument; or
(b) a single act intended to threaten, intimidate, harass, isolate, control, coerce or compel compliance of a family or household member that causes the family or household member to reasonably fear physical harm or have a reduced sense of physical safety or autonomy of:
- (i) harming or attempting to harm a child or relative of the family or household member;
- (ii) committing or attempting to commit abuse to an animal connected to the family or household member; or
- (iii) publishing or attempting to publish sexually explicit images of the family or household member.
Most restraining orders, when issued, include an order for the defendant to surrender all firearms. Additionally, in extreme cases, “abuse” as defined by the state’s restraining order statute is a predicate offense for pretrial detention unto 120 days under M.G.L. c. 276, Sec. 58A. See my post: Criminal Pretrial Detention: “Dangerousness” and 58A Motions.