{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-403.763","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 403.763","heading":"Violation of order of protection constitutes contempt of court and criminal","body":"offense.\n(1) Violation of the terms or conditions of an order of protection after the person has\nbeen served or given notice of the order shall constitute contempt of court and a\ncriminal offense under this section. Once a criminal or contempt proceeding has\nbeen initiated, the other shall not be undertaken regardless of the outcome of the\noriginal proceeding.\n(2) (a) Court proceedings for contempt of court for violation of an order of protection\nshall be held in the county where the order was issued or filed.\n(b) Court proceedings for a criminal violation of an order of protection shall\nfollow the rules of venue applicable to criminal cases generally.\n(3) Nothing in this section shall preclude the Commonwealth from prosecuting and\nconvicting the respondent of criminal offenses other than violation of an order of\nprotection.\n(4) (a) A person is guilty of a violation of an order of protection when he or she\nintentionally violates the provisions of an order of protection after the person\nhas been served or given notice of the order.\n(b) Violation of an order of protection is a Class A misdemeanor, unless the\nperson who stands convicted of a violation under this subsection  has been\nconvicted of two (2) or more previous violations of orders of protection under\nthis subsection or KRS 456.180(4)(a), 508.155, or 510.037 within the last five\n(5) years, in which case it is a Class D felony if the third or subsequent\nviolation involves the:\n1. Use or attempted use of physical force; or\n2. Threat of physical harm.\nThe protected person in the third or subsequent violation is not required to be\nthe same protected person in the previous violations. The five (5) year period\nshall be measured from the dates on which the offenses occurred for which\nthe judgments of conviction were entered.","path":["KRS Chapter 403"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56237","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:30Z","sha256":"e6ea35e50c794329b066b29640de8920fd77e319bdc09aef298ab951dc30baca","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-403.762","next":"us-ky/krs-403.765"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}