LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Former Rep. Katie Hill has obtained a restraining order against her ex-husband, whom she accuses of harassment and years of abuse.
On Tuesday, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered Kenneth Heslep to stay at least 100 yards away from the ex-congresswoman, as well as her mother and sister.
The couple officially divorced in October. Hill's court filing for the protection order accused Heslep of choking her during sex multiple times and encouraging his dogs to attack some of her pets, according to the Los Angeles Times, which said attempts to contact Heslep were unsuccessful.
Heslep has previously denied allegations of abusing Hill.
Hill, a bisexual Democrat, resigned her seat in 2019 after nude photos of her were published and news emerged that she had a three-way relationship with her husband and a campaign staffer. She was also accused of having an affair with a member of her congressional staff.
The 33-year-old blamed her husband for the public release of the photos. Speaking in Congress in 2019, she decried a “misogynistic culture that gleefully consumed my naked pictures, capitalized on my sexuality and enabled my abusive ex to continue that abuse, this time with the entire country watching.''
The 25th Congressional District includes Santa Clarita Valley, and portions of the northern San Fernando Valley, Antelope Valley and eastern Ventura County.
The seat had long been held by Republicans until Hill's 2018 victory over then-Rep. Steve Knight, R-Palmdale. After Hill's resignation, Republican Rep. Mike Garcia defeated Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith in a May 12 special election to fill the final 7 1/2 months of the term.
Garcia then beat Smith again by a razor-thin margin in November's election for a full two-year term.
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