BIDDEFORD — A judge has denied three requests for restraining orders involving Matthew Lauzon, a Boston businessman who grew up in Biddeford, and City Councilor Laura Seaver and her husband Randy Seaver.

In December, the Seavers each requested protection from harassment orders prohibiting Lauzon from contacting them for a year. In January, Lauzon requested one against Randy Seaver.

Judge Jeffrey Moskowitz made his ruling after a twohour hearing at Biddeford District Court Monday afternoon. Dozens of people, including city officials, were in attendance.

In issuing the ruling, Moskowitz said although there is “clearly a disagreement the parties have with one another,” none of them presented evidence to suggest harassment or stalking occurred.

He also noted much of the evidence presented during the hearing, at which all three parties represented themselves, was irrelevant to the matter at hand.

The Seavers and Lauzon began communicating in February 2015, shortly after Lauzon publicly alleged he was sexually abused as a child by a former Biddeford police officer. Lauzon’s claims triggered a state investigation that ended in August with no charges. A civil lawsuit filed in connection with the allegations remains open.

In what he says was an attempt to help Lauzon, Randy Seaver connected him with his wife, a social worker at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. But the relationship took a turn for the worse after Laura Seaver made a comment on Facebook saying she feared Lauzon was starting a “witch hunt” in Biddeford, in which people were being presumed guilty of allowing or turning their heads to sexual abuse.

This resulted in nearly a year of unsolicited communication between the parties that all three said was emotionally distressing and at times frightening.

Lauzon, for example, said during the hearing that Laura Seaver’s “witch hunt” comment – regardless of her intentions – left him “in a fetal position crying.”

He also alluded to a photo of Randy Seaver holding a firearm on Facebook. Although it was not sent to him, Lauzon said he still found the image intimidating. Seaver said during the hearing that the photo was posted as a joke.

In their testimony, the Seavers accused Lauzon of sending them hundreds of emails and displaying behavior that was intimidating and at times odd, such as driving by their home and saying “hello” after being asked to stay away from them.

Much of the Seavers’ argument rested on claims that Lauzon ignored their many requests to stop communicating with them. “We’ve asked Mr. Lauzon on at least 17 occasions not to contact us,” Randy Seaver told the judge.

But none of the evidence presented Monday, which included testimony from Mayor Alan Casavant on Lauzon’s behavior at past city meetings, included proof of direct threats made by one party to the other.

Moskowitz ended the hearing by saying he hopes the three will be able to have a better relationship with one another moving forward.

“This is a sad case,” Moskowitz said. “It’s sad that three smart, very nice people have split apart. My hope is that over time, the differences between the parties can ease a little bit.”

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].