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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

No Restraining Order Against Ex-State Senator

(CN) - Four women who claim that a Massachusetts senator sexually assaulted them are not entitled to a special restraining order against him and his employees, the state Court of Appeals ruled.

Judith Carroll, Heather Hartshorn and Ellen Frith accused Sen. James Marzilli of groping them and making lewd remarks.

Carroll said that an investigator working for Marzilli urged her not to pursue the matter in court or talk to the press. Hartshorn said that after she complained about the assault, she lost her job with a charity run by Marzilli's wife.

Marzilli was arrested on charges of assaulting the three plaintiffs and four other women. He was released on bail with the condition that he stays away from the women.

The plaintiffs sought an injunction to keep Marzilli and anyone working for him at least 200 feet away from them or from assaulting or intimidating any other women.

The trial court turned down their request, and Judge Kafker affirmed the decision on appeal.

Kafker noted that since being released on bail, Marzilli has not contacted any of the women that he allegedly assaulted.

"The plaintiffs have not established a risk of immediate irreparable harm to themselves and are not empowered ... to seek relief on behalf of all of the women of the Commonwealth," Kafker wrote.

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