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Legal Information: New Jersey

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
January 8, 2024

Who can get a sexual assault restraining order?

You can file for a sexual assault restraining order if a person committed or attempted to commit an act of nonconsensual sexual contact, sexual penetration, lewdness, stalking, or cyber-harassment against you and you do not have an intimate relationship with the offender.  If the abuser is a former or current intimate partner, then you would file for a domestic violence restraining order instead. To file for a sexual assault restraining order, you do not need to have any specific relationship with the abuser; s/he can be a stranger, a co-worker, an acquaintance, etc.1  

A parent or guardian can file for a sexual assault restraining order on the victim’s behalf if the victim is:

  • a minor
  • an adult with a developmental disability; or
  • an adult with a mental condition that means s/he cannot understand the nature of his/her own actions.2 

However, if the abuser is a minor and unemancipated, you would instead file a complaint under a proceeding that deals with juvenile delinquency - see section 2A:4A-30 on our Selected NJ Statutes page to read the law.3 

If the abuser is the parent, guardian, or other person having custody and control over the minor victim, the law requires that you instead report the abuse to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the Department of Children and Families for investigation and possible legal action.4

1 N.J. Stat. § 2C:14-14(a)(1)
2 N.J. Stat. § 2C:14-14(a)(2)
3 N.J. Stat. § 2C:14-14(b)(1)
4 N.J. Stat. § 2C:14-14(b)(2)