A Riverside father has obtained a temporary restraining order against his son’s fourth grade classmate because the boy allegedly pulled a knife on his son, reports KTLA News. It may be the first temporary restraining order of its kind to be granted.
Robert Casteel contacted police after his 10-year-old son Christopher told him his classmate threatened him with a knife on January 11 at Mission Bell Elementary School. Casteel claimed he had tried to contact the school’s principal before contacting authorities, but could not reach her because she was on a conference call.
Police arrived to find the alleged assailant with a small pocket knife in his possession. He was suspended from school for five days, and a restraining order was placed on him on Tuesday, requiring him to stay at least 20 feet away from Christopher, according to KTLA.
Temporary restraining orders are issued by a court and are used to protect a person from physical, mental, verbal or other abuse. They typically stay in effect for 15-20 days, at which time the court will evaluate the order. A judge is scheduled to review Casteel’s temporary restraining order against his son’s classmate on February 8 and decide whether it should be permanent.
If someone violates a temporary restraining order, the person who requested it can have the violator arrested. However, this may not be the case for a minor. School officials and legal experts believe that this may be the first time a temporary restraining order has been granted against a grade-school classmate, according to The Press-Enterprise. Authorities from the Jurupa Valley Police Department did say that they would respond if notified that the boy was in violation but would only go so far as saying they would take a report.
For more information on temporary restraining orders, see our Related Resources section.
Related Resources:
- Find a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney (FindLaw)
- What is a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)? (FindLaw)
- Selena Gomez Stalker Under Temporary Restraining Order (The Los Angeles Criminal Law Blog)
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