Former Rep. Katie Hill granted temporary restraining order against ex-husband

Former Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) on Tuesday was granted a temporary restraining order against her ex-husband Kenny Heslep through at least Dec. 30.

A Los Angeles judge granted the temporary restraining order for Hill after she alleged she has endured 15 years of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, NBC News reported. 

“While I considered filing a restraining order many times over the years, I was always afraid doing so would simply make matters worse,” Hill said in her sworn statement requesting the order. “At this point, I am finally seeking a restraining order because I am afraid that he will not give up until I am dead.”

Heslep now cannot be within 100 yards of the former California lawmaker, her mother, her sister, her goat, her dog and her horse. The order will be effective until the Dec. 30 hearing which will determine whether the restraining order is extended, according to NBC News. 

Hill alleges that Heslep abused her by choking her until she was unconscious, threatening her with guns, abusing her pets and publishing sexually explicit material of the former representative, which she said led her to resign last year. 

The former lawmaker announced her resignation from the House in November 2019 in the midst of an ethics probe into inappropriate relationships with congressional and campaign staffers. Allegations about Hill’s relationships first arose after nude photos of Hill were leaked to RedState and the Daily Mail. 

Hill condemned the photos as an illegal “invasion of privacy” and said her resignation was caused by an “abusive” estranged husband and “hateful political operatives.” 

For the temporary restraining order, the judge deferred deciding whether to ban Heslep from distributing “confidential information” about Hill to the press or public until the hearing. 

The former representative said the couple met in June 2004 when Hill was 16 and Heslep was 20, and the couple married in 2010. Their divorce was finalized in September 2020.