Restraining Orders

Under Maine law, a person who is 60 years of age or older, a dependent adult, or an incapacitated adult can file for a protection from abuse against an extended family member or an unpaid care provider.¹ Under these circumstances, abuse means that the extended family member or unpaid caregiver did one of the following:

• caused you injury;
• unreasonably confined you – for example, tying you to a bed;
• used intimidation or cruel punishment that caused or is likely to cause you physical harm/pain or mental anguish;
• financially exploited you by using deception, intimidation, undue influence, force or other unlawful means to get control over your property to benefit the abuser or someone else;
• sexually abused you or sexually exploited you;
• deprived you of your essential needs, such as withholding food, medicine, etc.;²
• attempted to cause or caused bodily injury or offensive physical contact;
• attempted to cause or caused sexual assault;
• stalking as defined by law;
• attempted to place or placed you in fear of bodily injury by threatening, harassing or tormenting;
• forced you to do things that you have a right not to do;
• forced you to not do things that you have a right to do;
• substantially restricted your movements without lawful authority by:
  • removing you from your home, business, or school without consent or lawful authority;
  • moving you a substantial distance; or
  • confining you;
• threatened a crime of violence that places you in reasonable fear that the crime will be committed;
• repeatedly and without reasonable cause, followed you or was at or in the vicinity of your home, school, business or place of employment;
• engaged in the unauthorized dissemination of certain private images; or
• engaged in aggravated sex trafficking or sex trafficking.³

A person who is 60 years of age or older, a dependent adult, or an incapacitated adult can also file for a protection from abuse order on behalf of him/herself or his/her minor child against a family or household member or a dating partner, just as any adult can. For more information, see our Protection from Abuse Orders (for domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and more) section.

¹ ME ST T. 19-A § 4005(1)
² ME ST T. 19-A § 4005(1); ME ST T. 22 § 3472(1), (9-A)
³ ME ST T. 19-A §§ 4005(1); 4002(1)