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Injunction for Protection Against Sexual Violence

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What is Sexual Violence?

"Sexual Violence" means any one incident of:

Sexual battery, as defined in Chapter 794, Florida Statutes;
A lewd or lascivious act, as defined in Chapter 800, Florida Statutes, committed upon or in the presence of a person younger than 16 years of age;
Luring or enticing a child, as described in Chapter 787, Florida Statutes;
Sexual performance by a child, as described in Chapter 827, Florida Statutes; or
Any other forcible felony wherein a sexual act is committed or attempted

What Will an Injunction Do for You?

It will legally prevent an alleged abuser from committing any further acts of violence to the petitioner.
It may prohibit the respondent from any contact with the petitioner.
It may prohibit the respondent from going to, in or within 500 feet of the petitioner's residence, place of employment, place where the petitioner attends school, or the places the petitioner or petitioner's minor child(ren) visits often.
It may bar the respondent from possessing a firearm and require the respondent to surrender any firearms to law enforcement.

Additional Information

In order to get an Injunction for Protection Against Sexual Violence, you must have reported the sexual violence to a law enforcement agency and be cooperating in the criminal proceeding if there is one. It does not matter whether criminal charges based on the sexual violence have been filed, reduced or dismissed by the state attorney’s office.

You may also seek an Injunction for Protection Against Sexual Violence if the respondent was sent to prison for committing one of the sexual violence crimes listed above against you or your minor child living at home and the respondent is out of prison or is getting out of prison within 90 days of your petition. Attach the notice of inmate release to your petition.

As the petitioner, you will swear to the truth of the allegations contained in your petition, under the penalty of perjury. The court will review your petition, and based on the allegations the court will either grant a temporary injunction and schedule a hearing, deny the temporary injunction and schedule a hearing, or deny the injunction without a hearing. If the court grants the temporary injunction or denies the temporary injunction but grants a hearing, a hearing to determine if a final injunction is warranted will be held within 15 days of the issuance of the temporary injunction.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller will forward the temporary injunction to the Sheriff's Office in the jurisdiction where the respondent may be found for personal service. Please note, if the respondent resides out of state, the petitioner must provide the name, telephone number and address for the agency responsible for service in the county where the respondent may be found.