‘Turtleboy’ blogger is charged with violating restraining order
Aidan Kearney, the Massachusetts blogger known as “Turtleboy” who has championed Karen Read’s innocence in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, was arraigned Thursday on charges that he violated a restraining order. That order stems from an alleged domestic dispute at the home of his former girlfriend in December, according to court records.
Kearney, 42, of Holden, pleaded not guilty to violating the order and was released on personal recognizance. Dedham District Court Judge Michael Pomarole denied the special prosecutor’s requests for Kearney to be detained pending a dangerousness hearing and for his bail to be revoked on other charges he faces for allegedly intimidating witnesses in the Read case, according to court documents.
“He’s certainly got enough open cases and at the very least having a new charge is sufficient under the statute to have bail revoked and that’s what we asked for, but the court didn’t feel that was appropriate,” Ken Mello, the special prosecutor, said in a phone interview.
Pomarole also rejected a motion by Kearney’s attorney, Timothy Bradl, to dismiss the protective order violation, according to the documents. Kearney is due back in court April 26 for a pretrial hearing.
“They moved, predictably, to try to lock him up again,” Bradl said in a phone interview Thursday. “The judge did a great job with the case and denied their motion and let him out on personal recognizance. I think that was reflective of the lack of probative value of the case.”
Kearney’s ex-girlfriend, who, according to prosecutors, had spoken with investigators about Kearney’s involvement in the Read case, took out a restraining order against him following a Dec. 23 meeting at her home where he was accused of assaulting her while discussing the case. Kearney was arrested and charged with assault and intimidating a witness, but the assault charge was dropped when the case moved to superior court. He also faces a charge of illegal wiretapping for allegedly recording the woman without her knowing.
Prosecutors on Thursday said Kearney violated a condition of the restraining order in February that prohibits him from being within 100 yards of the alleged victim.
According to a police report filed in the case, the woman said she was invited by a friend to Norfolk Superior Court on Feb. 26, where there was a hearing in Read’s case. Kearney was also in the courtroom covering the case, Bradl said.
The woman said she had a restraining order against Kearney, and he left the courtroom at the request of court officers, according to the police report. When the woman exited Norfolk Superior Court, Kearney was outside in front of the registry of deeds across the street and allegedly was “yelling and calling me a liar,” the woman told police, according to the report.
Kearney denies that he said anything to the woman. In a court filing Thursday, Bradl wrote that there are “several videos” and “several affidavits” from bystanders who were in the area “swearing that Mr. Kearney did not shout anything at all.” He claims the woman “engineered the entire encounter” and lied to police.
Kearney has written extensively about the Read case and boasts a large online following. Read is accused of backing into her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. She has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury and death.
Read has been free on bail, and her trial is scheduled to begin April 16.
Kearney was arrested in October on charges of intimidating and harassing witnesses in the Read case. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail, but his bail was revoked when he was arrested in December following the alleged domestic incident at his ex-girlfriend’s home. Kearney spent two months in jail and was released in February.