Court closes Robin Thicke restraining order trial to public

LOS ANGELES – No public proceedings will be held in singer Robin Thicke’s trial focusing on a restraining order his ex-wife wants amid allegations he abused her and their son, a judge ruled on Friday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Roy Paul ruled the two-week trial will start March 6 and be held behind closed doors as witnesses are questioned.

Actress Paula Patton’s attorneys wrote in a court filing this week that they want to call 26 witnesses, and several child welfare service workers and sheriff’s deputies appeared in court after being subpoenaed.

The judge will decide whether the temporary restraining order that Thicke’s ex-wife obtained should be extended for up to five years.

Patton accused the “Blurred Lines” singer of severely spanking their son and being physically abusive during their marriage, which ended in 2015. In January she was granted a temporary restraining order that requires Thicke to stay away from her and have only supervised visits with his 6-year-old son.

Thicke has denied abusing his son, and his former attorney has said there was no basis for Patton’s domestic violence allegations and called them retaliatory.

This week Patton’s lawyers accused Thicke in a filing of evidence tampering and modifying a court order in an attempt to get her arrested for kidnapping.

Patton was granted sole custody of the boy on Jan. 26, and a judge ordered Thicke to stay away from her and her home.

To obtain the temporary restraining order, Patton included a sworn declaration alleging Thicke was abusive during their marriage and pushed her to the ground and kicked her during a fight in April 2013.

The custody dispute flared up weeks after Thicke’s father, “Growing Pains” actor Alan Thicke, died in December.

Thicke and Patton dated for 10 years before marrying in June 2005. She filed for divorce in October 2014, and their judgment was finalized a few months later.

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This story has been corrected to show the ex-wife’s surname is Patton, not Putton.