Fired News Anchor Charles Perez Files Restraining Order Against Ex

Recently fired Miami ABC News anchor Charles Perez has been granted a restraining order against his ex-boyfriend, saying Dennis Pena had physically threatened and sexually assaulted him.

Miami-Dade County Judge Rosa Figarola ordered Dennis Ricardo Peña to stay at least 500 feet away from Perez for the next 24 months. Peña, an unemployed paralegal, has 30 days to appeal and said "of course'' he will. Perez, 46, testified in domestic violence court that he was afraid of Peña, 42, claiming that his ex-partner had threatened and sexually assaulted him. Peña denied harming Perez, who did not file a complaint with the police. The two men began an on-again, off-again relationship in February 2006 in New York, while Perez was a TV anchor at WABC. Peña moved to South Florida when Perez accepted a reporting-anchor job at Channel 10. They broke up in August 2008, a few months after Perez succeeded Dwight Lauderdale as weeknight news anchor with Laurie Jennings.

Perez was fired after filing a complaint alleging that his station had demoted him for being too obviously gay on the air.