A judge has denied a final protection-from-abuse order that a woman sought against Erie County Executive Brenton Davis.

The denial came shortly after 3:45 p.m. on Monday and followed a court hearing at which the woman testified as the only witness. The judge, Robert Boyer, of Venango County, said the woman, the plaintiff in the case, failed to carry the burden needed for the imposition of a final PFA.

Boyer, a retired Common Pleas Court judge, handled the case because all the judges on the Erie County Court of Common Pleas recused themselves from hearing the case against Davis.

Hours earlier on Monday, Davis consented to a six-month restraining order that prohibits him from having contact with the two minor children of the woman who sought her own restraining order against him, according to court records. He admitted no wrongdoing as part of the consent agreement, according to court records.

The restraining order involving the children is known as a protection-from-intimidation order. It does not include a prohibition against Davis possessing or buying firearms during the duration of the order, according to court records.

The mother of the children got a temporary PFA against Davis last week in a case that involved only her. The temporary PFA included restrictions that prohibited Davis from possessing or buying firearms for as long as a temporary or final PFA was in place. That prohibition is no longer in effect with the denial of a final PFA.

The mother pursued a final PFA against Davis at the court hearing, which started at the Erie County Courthouse late Monday morning.

The court records show Davis consented to the final protection-from-intimidation order involving the children in an agreement docketed at the courthouse at 1:08 p.m. on Monday.

In consenting to the final PFI, Davis did not admit to any of the allegations that the woman made against him in the temporary PFI, according to the agreement. Boyer granted the temporary PFI and PFA against Davis on Thursday and set Monday's hearing to decide whether the orders should become final.

A PFI applies to cases in which a person older than 18 is accused of harassing a person who is younger than 18 and does not live with the older person or have a familial relationship to that person. A PFA can apply to a variety of circumstances. In Davis' case, the woman said she had a prior relationship with him, according to court records.

The woman accused Davis in the temporary PFI of mistreating her children, who are 10 and 11 years old. Among the allegations were that Davis grabbed her son by the neck in January and dragged her daughter by the daughter's sweatshirt from one room to another in April 2022, according to the petition for the temporary PFI.

Court hearing over PFA takes place

At the court hearing over her request for a PFA, the woman testified on Monday that Davis physically assaulted her earlier this month — an incident that led the woman to get the two temporary restraining orders against him.

The woman said "my body was jolted" in the assault and "I couldn't believe what just happened."

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The woman is identified in court documents but it is generally the Times-News' policy not to identify subjects in alleged abuse cases without the express consent of those persons.

Davis could have consented to the imposition of the final PFA. In that case, he also would not have been required to admit to the allegations, but would have agreed to have the restraining order extended for a period of time that the judge would have determined. A consent would have avoided a public hearing.

Temporary rulings: Woman granted temporary restraining order against Brenton Davis

In fighting the requests for final orders in court, Davis forced woman to prove the allegations by a preponderance of the evidence — the same standard used in civil cases.

A PFA and a PFI are litigated in civil court. A violation of a PFA or PFI is a criminal offense and is prosecuted in criminal court.

Woman took stand against Davis in PFA case

In the PFA case, the woman alleged Davis, on the morning of April 9, which was Easter Sunday, physically assaulted her at his Millcreek Township home. She further alleges that Davis used fear and intimidation to monitor her behavior during their roughly 16-month relationship.

The woman testified on Monday about what she outlined in the the requests for the temporary orders — how she said Davis assaulted her shortly after she visited his home on April 9 as she attempted to return an unloaded hunting rifle to him. She said Davis had let her son use the rifle for hunting.

She testified that Davis picked her up by the sweatshirt, threw her on the ground and dragged her by the hair for 10 feet. She said Davis threatened to have her arrested and said she could lose her children and job for coming to his house uninvited.

The woman testified that she had gone to Davis' house on April 8 to return the rifle in person because he had blocked her from contacting him. She said Davis was not home on April 8, so she returned on April 9. The woman testified she handed Davis the rifle in a calm manner on April 9, and that he then assaulted her.

The woman said she did not call the police after the incident because she was afraid. She also said she did not go to the hospital because she was afraid of disclosing Davis' name.

Davis, 41, a Republican elected in 2021, denied the allegations. The woman's testimony ran counter to what Davis claimed happened at his house.

"Mr. Davis was awakened at 7 a.m. Easter Sunday with a loud banging at the door. He observed (the plaintiff) at his front door," according to a statement provided to the Times-News on Friday on behalf of Davis by Dennis Roddy, a political consultant who formerly worked as an adviser to the Davis campaign.

"She then forced her way into the house with a rifle that appeared to be loaded," according to the statement. "He immediately disarmed her."

"At the time she appeared," also according to the statement, "he had no idea as to the origins or ownership of the weapon and was understandably concerned for his safety. The rifle could have been safely returned by a third party without disruption or implicit threats."

Firearms relinquishment had been part of PFA case against Davis

Davis had to relinquish his firearms to the Erie County Sheriff's Office due to the granting of the temporary PFA. If a final PFA had been granted against him, he would have been unable to possess or buy firearms for as long as that order would have been in place.

The woman filed for the restraining orders through SafeNet, the Erie-based agency that focuses on the prevention of domestic violence. A lawyer for SafeNet, Bryan Spry, represented the woman.

Erie lawyer Tim George represented Davis.

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNRao.

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Judge denies final PFA against Erie County Executive Davis