A. 1. At the emergency custody hearing or when a petition has been filed alleging that a child has been physically or sexually abused, the court may enter an order restraining the alleged perpetrator of the abuse from having contact with the child or attempting to contact the child and requiring the alleged perpetrator to move from the household in which the child resides. The court may issue a restraining order only if the court finds that:

a.there is a reasonable suspicion that abuse occurred and that the person to be restrained committed the abuse, and

b.the order is in the best interest of the child.

2. The court may also enter other appropriate orders including, but not limited to, orders that control contact between the alleged abuser, other children in the home, and any other person.

3. The court shall include in an order entered under this subsection the following information about the person to be restrained to the extent known by the court at the time the order is entered:

a.name,

b.address,

c.age and birth date,

d.race,

e.sex,

f.height and weight,

g.color of hair and eyes, and

h.any other identifying features such as tattoos.

4. The court may include in the order a provision that a peace officer accompany the restrained person to the household when it is necessary for the restrained person to remove personal property.

B. If the court enters an order under this section:

1. The clerk of the court shall provide without charge the number of certified true copies of the order and petition, if available, necessary to effect service and shall deliver the same to the sheriff or other person qualified to serve the order for service upon the person to be restrained; and

2. The sheriff or other person qualified to serve the order shall serve the person to be restrained personally unless that person is present at the hearing. After accepting the order, if the sheriff or other person cannot complete service within ten (10) days, the sheriff or other person shall file a return to the clerk of the court showing that service was not completed and the reason for the noncompletion.

C. Within thirty (30) days after an order is served under this section, the restrained person may file a written request with the court and receive a court hearing on any portion of the order. If the restrained person requests a hearing under this subsection:

1. The court shall notify the parties and the restrained person of the date and time of the hearing; and

2. The court shall hold a hearing within twenty-one (21) days after the request for hearing is filed with the court and at the conclusion of the hearing may cancel or modify the order.

D. 1. Within twenty-four (24) hours of the return of service of the restraining order, the clerk of the issuing court shall send certified copies thereof to all appropriate law enforcement agencies designated by the court. A certified copy of any extension, modification, vacation, cancellation, or consent agreement concerning the restraining order shall be sent by the clerk of the issuing court to those law enforcement agencies receiving the original orders pursuant to this section and to any law enforcement agencies designated by the court.

2. Any law enforcement agency receiving copies of the documents listed in paragraph 1 of this subsection shall be required to ensure that other law enforcement agencies have access twenty-four (24) hours a day to the information contained in the documents which may include entry of information about the restraining order in the National Crime Information Center database.

E. A restraining order issued pursuant to this section remains in effect for a period of one (1) year or until the order is sooner modified, amended, or terminated by court order.

F. A court that issued a restraining order under this section may renew the order for a period of up to one (1) year if the court finds that there is probable cause to believe the renewal is in the best interest of the child. The court may renew the order on motion by the state or the child’s attorney alleging facts supporting the required finding. If the renewal order is granted, subsections B and C of this section apply.

G. If a restraining order issued pursuant to this section is terminated before its expiration date, the clerk of the court shall promptly deliver a true copy of the termination order to the sheriff. The sheriff shall promptly remove the original order from the National Crime Information Center database.

H. Any person who has been served with the restraining order and is in violation of the restraining order, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by a term of imprisonment in the county jail of not more than one (1) year, or both such fine and imprisonment.

Added by Laws 2009, c. 233, § 116, emerg. eff. May 21, 2009.