Restraining Order against Aidan Kearney, “Turtleboy” extended for a year

After an all-day hearing in Dedham District Court, a restraining order against Aidan Kearney was extended for a full year.

The order, which was granted just under two weeks ago, was initially for 10 days. The victim, a former girlfriend who claims that Kearney pushed her during a domestic event at her apartment the night before Christmas Eve, asked for the order to be extended and that she was fearful Kearney would retaliate against her for communicating with an adversary of Kearney’s.

Yesterday’s hearing began at 9 AM and continued throughout the day with several recesses, including one where the judge insisted that a witness on behalf of Kearney be brought to testify via Zoom after she refused to attend the hearing, claiming she had COVID.

The all-day hearing was filled testimony from both Kearney as well as the alleged victim in the case, often relating to the victim’s as well as Kearney’s adjacency to the Karen Read case. The alleged victim has been subpoenaed as a witness in the case and Kearney has been charged with multiple counts related to intimidation of witness in the case.

Kearney has been reporting on the case since last year, detailing developments and theories on his blog. The case has subsequently gained national attention with supporters of Read believing that she was framed for the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. The Turtle Boy blog has over 260 installments relating to the case, with thousands of followers supporting Read as well as Kearney.

After a whole day of testimony, the judge eventually ruled that the victim had met the burden and was issued a restraining order against Kearney for a year. Kearney continues to be held after his bail was revoked stemming from the intimidation charges until a future court date.

Fall River Reporter reached out to the Special Prosecutor in the case, Ken Mello and what he thought of Monday’s ruling.

“I don’t really have any opinion on the ruling today. That case is separate from the case I am involved in.”

It should be noted that during testimony, the alleged victim in the case testified that she has had communication with Mello, who connected her to police officers that she reported the alleged domestic violence to.

Mello spoke with Fall River Reporter after Kearney had his bail revoked last month.