Protection from Abuse (PFAs)
Pennsylvania's Protection From Abuse Act was enacted to provide temporary relief from abuse in emergency situations. The purpose of a PFA is to prevent physical and sexual abuse from occurring in the future.
"Abuse" is defined as the occurrence of one or more of the following acts between family or household members, sexual or intimate partners or persons who share biological parenthood:
1. Attempting to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury, serious bodily injury, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault or incest with or without a deadly weapon;
2. Placing another in reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury;
3. The infliction of false imprisonment;
4. Physically or sexually abusing minor children;
5. Knowingly engaging in a course of conduct or repeatedly committing acts toward another person, including following the person, without proper authority, under circumstances which place the person in reasonable fear of bodily injury.
Within ten days of filing a PFA a hearing is scheduled before the court at which time the filing party must prove the allegations of abuse. In order to protect your rights, it is imperative that you attend this hearing regardless of whether you are the plaintiff or defendant. In some cases counsel for the parties are able to negotiate an agreement without the necessity of a hearing. In other cases a hearing will be necessary to determine if the entry of a PFA is appropriate.
The Court may grant any protection order or approve any consent agreement to bring about a cessation of abuse of the plaintiff and/or the minor children. The Order may include a number of directives depending on the circumstances of your particular case. Those directives may include:
1. Directing the defendant to refrain from abusing the plaintiff or minor children;
2. Granting exclusive possession of the residence to the plaintiff and excluding the defendant;
3. Ordering the defendant to provide support to the plaintiff and minor children;
4. Awarding custody rights to the plaintiff;
5. Prohibiting the defendant from any and all forms of contact with the plaintiff or the minor children;
6. Ordering the defendant to relinquish all weapons and firearms permit that the defendant might have;
7. Ordering defendant to pay plaintiff for all reasonable losses suffered as a result of the defendant's abuse (medical bills, relocation expenses, counsel fees, and other out of pocket expense);
8. Ordering any other appropriate relief sought by plaintiff.
Violations of a court ordered PFA are taken very seriously and can result in criminal penalties. Anyone who violates the terms of a PFA can be arrested, even if a police officer did not witness the violation. Penalties for violation of a PFA can include imprisonment for up to six months and fines up to $1000.00.
If you are in need of legal assistance concerning a pending PFA please contact our firm immediately at 877-826-9659 so that we may discuss the options that are available to you.
