An online entertainment news source reported that Robyn Kass-Gerji announced that she would no longer compete in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant due to threats she received from a fellow contestant. She officially resigned as “ Miss Susquehanna Valley 2024” due to bullying and death threats from an unnamed fellow contestant.
Ms. Kass-Gerji had been granted an anti-stalking order by a Washington D.C. court that ordered the fellow contestant not to be allowed within 100 yards of her person, home, workplace, vehicle, animals, and loved ones. However, it did allow the fellow contestant to be 20 feet from her in a competition. The judge's order was created to allow both parties to continue to compete. In spite of this ruling, Ms. Kass-Gerji continued to receive hundreds of bullying posts and death-threat texts from her fellow contestants. Ms. Kass- Gerji therefore, resigned since she did not feel safe nor did she feel she could protect her loved ones,
If you or a loved one is bullied or threatened in Pennsylvania, the LLF Law Firm Family Law Team can help ease your concerns by obtaining a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order on your behalf. The LLF Law Firm Family Law Team can help you face and resolve this intimidation while protecting all your legal rights. Call the offices today at 888.535.3686 or contact us.
Grounds for a PFA Order in Pennsylvania Can Include Reasonable Fear of Bodily Injury by Intimidation from a Non-Family Member
A person who has a reasonable fear of threats made by another person has sufficient grounds to consider a PFA. This can include repeated threatening phone calls or other means of communicated threats under Pennsylvania's PFA Act .
It is important to note that a PFA order that does not involve domestic partners and family members is brought under a different section of the Act. Since July 15, 2015, the Judicial Procedure section allows for a PFA order to be considered for victims of sexual violence carried out by a non-family member over 18 and for victims of intimidation. Intimidation under the Act includes any conduct that constitutes harassment. The harassment does not have to include actual physical harm but can also include the threat to do physical harassment.
The Standard of Proof in PFA Cases
In order to obtain a PFA order, a victim, known as the petitioner in the court, must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that abuse or intimidation of abuse took place. A temporary PFA order is granted after the court holds a hearing to decide if temporary relief should be granted to the petitioner. A final PFA order is granted only after a full hearing to determine whether long-term protection should be granted to the petitioner. If the petitioner meets the standard of proof, then a permanent PFA order that can last up to three years is granted.
Get Help to Obtain a PFO Order Today
If you have been threatened and intimidated, then you need the help of the experienced legal professionals at the Family Law Team of the LLF Law Firm to guide you through all the steps necessary to obtain a PFA order. Contact us or call 888.535.3686.
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