Hayden Panettiere Seeks to Enforce Restraining Order Against Ex Brian Hickerson in California
Hayden Panettiere is continuing to keep her distance from her ex Brian Hickerson.
The actress, 30, has filed to register an out-of-state restraining order against Hickerson in California, a source confirms to PEOPLE.
If granted, the order would protect her in Los Angeles, where she is currently living, according to court documents obtained by The Blast.
The source adds that Panettiere and Hickerson are no longer together and "broke up a while ago."
Hickerson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Panettiere's filing comes nearly five months after Hickerson was arrested on Valentine's Day after the Teton County Sheriff's Office responded to a disturbance between him and a 30-year-old female at a private residence in Jackson, Wyoming.
Hickerson was charged with domestic battery and interference with a cop, both misdemeanor charges in Wyoming, a spokesperson for the Teton County Sheriff's Office told PEOPLE at the time. According to court documents obtained by TMZ at the time, Hickerson allegedly punched Panettiere "with a closed fist on the right side of her face."
Hickerson pleaded not guilty to the charge in April, according to In Touch. A jury trial is scheduled for September.
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Panettiere and Hickerson began dating after reports circulated that she and then-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko had split in August 2018. Panettiere and Klitschko, 44, share daughter Kaya, 5, who lives in Ukraine with her father.
PEOPLE previously reported that Panettiere's relationship with Hickerson drew concern from those close to the Heroes alumna, especially after they were reportedly involved in a drunken altercation with his father in October 2018, prompting a visit from police. (No arrests were made.)
In May 2019, Hickerson was arrested on a domestic violence charge and released on bail. According to the felony complaint obtained by PEOPLE at the time, prosecutors had alleged Hickerson "willfully inflicted corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon Hayden P."
Teton County Sheriff’s Office
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Hickerson was charged with one count of felony domestic violence on May 23 and pleaded not guilty, a spokesperson for the L.A. County District Attorney's Office confirmed to PEOPLE at the time.
The case was dismissed at the end of September, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office previously told PEOPLE.
"The case against Brian Hickerson was dismissed without prejudice today," said the spokesperson. "Our office was unable to proceed because we could not secure a material witness. The protective order also was dismissed."
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
