Former Gov. Matt Bevin once again a no-show at child support hearing

A hearing on whether former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and his ex-wife, Glenna, owe support to their estranged son, Jonah Bevin, got underway Tuesday without Matt Bevin.

Bevin failed to show up for the hearing despite an order from Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson that he attend in person.

That left Glenna Bevin to testify alone about the Bevins’ care for their adopted son, his placements since age 13 in multiple out-of-state facilities and to attempt to refute Jonah’s allegations the Bevins abandoned him at age 17 in a brutally abusive youth facility in Jamaica.

Jonah is seeking support and help with his education, including a valid high school diploma. His lawyers also are seeking attorneys’ fees, which they said in a court filing exceed $47,000.

The day-long hearing ended with no decision. Johnson gave the lawyers 21 days to submit final arguments in writing before she issues a decision.

The case already has experienced multiple delays and several rounds of unsuccessful appeals by the Bevins since Jonah first sought to intervene more than a year ago.

Jonah said afterwards he was happy to at last get a chance to testify.

“At least I got my day in court,” he said.

And he said he wasn’t surprised his father failed to appear at the hearing after disregarding previous court orders.

“It’s Matt Bevin,” he said. “It’s not shocking to any of us.”

Meanwhile, Jonah, 19, is struggling to establish a foothold where he is living in Utah, trying to find a job and a stable place to live, said Melina Hettiaratchi, one of his lawyers.

He’s also on probation from some recent criminal charges though his lawyers did not specify details.

“These are really common issues for kids in his situation,” Hettiaratchi said.

Glenna Bevin’s testimony

With Matt Bevin absent, Glenna Bevin was the only witness called to speak on the Bevins’ behalf.

She appeared strained, spoke so softly that the judge several times had to ask her to speak up, and at one point, chastised one of Jonah’s lawyers who pressed her about why the Bevins did not go to Jamaica to rescue their son after he and six other youths were removed from the facility amid abuse allegations.

“You can sit there and judge but until you’ve walked through this…” she said, responding to John H. Helmers Jr.

Glenna Bevin testified that Jonah had difficulty adjusting to life in their home after he was adopted in 2012 with three other children from Ethiopia. She said that as a young teen, he had become aggressive and threatening to other children in the home. The Bevins have nine children altogether.

Glenna Bevin testified she was involved in some decisions about Jonah’s care and selecting various placements but said her ex-husband made most of the decisions — including choosing the now-closed Atlantis Leadership Academy in Jamaica — and paid the bills.

“Matt always did everything financially,” she said.

And she said she wasn’t sure whether to believe Jonah when he first told her about the brutal abuse at Atlantis including regular beatings and severe punishments such as “waterboarding” advocates say amounted to torture.

“I didn’t know what to believe,” she said, adding the Bevins initially relied on information from Atlantis. Asked if she believes Jonah now, Glenna Bevin replied “yes.”

No rescue from Jamaica

Earlier at the hearing, Dawn Post, a child advocate and lawyer from New York who initially came to the aid of the youths removed from Atlantis in early 2024, said while some of their families hired lawyers, the Bevins were working with the lawyer for Atlantis — which was seeking to reopen the facility closed by authorities.

She said the Bevins were the only family that did not attempt to contact or act on behalf of their sons.

Glenna Bevin, in her testimony, said she tried to call the U.S. Embassy but no one returned her call.

Post — who spent three weeks in Jamaica working on behalf of the youths — said she was able to reach Glenna Bevin by phone and recorded the call, which was played in court Tuesday.

Glenna Bevin expressed concern about Jonah on the call and said she was seeking information, but Matt Bevin, whom she was divorcing, told her authorities would not call him back.

“If they’re contacting my husband, he doesn’t respond always,” she said. She also said Matt Bevin could be “a little tricky.”

Post, on the call, updated her on the boys’ situation and that Jonah needed permission from his parents to return to the United States.

When that was not immediately forthcoming, Jonah was placed in custody of the Jamaican child welfare system. In May, Jonah returned to the United States with the help of the U.S. Embassy to a youth facility in Florida, a placement Post helped arrange, Post said.

Glenna Bevin said she believes her ex-husband paid for Jonah’s plane ticket but has no proof.

Jonah’s abuse

Meanwhile, Jonah — who testified prior to his adoptive mother — briefly broke down in tears when asked to describe the abuse he endured at the Jamaican facility, including a  beating three days after he arrived that left him battered and bleeding from the nose and mouth.

“I got beat up by a bunch of staff members,” he said.

Jonah, who arrived after the hearing started because of a flight delay, also asked about the whereabouts of Matt Bevin.

“Why isn’t Matt here?” he asked.

“He’s not here,” Johnson responded. “He was ordered to be.”

Bevin already is subject to an arrest warrant for contempt of court for failing to disclose financial records in the case.

Matt Bevin’s lawyer, Jesse Mudd, told the judge his client did not plan to attend but didn’t say where he was. Mudd, during a break, told a reporter he did not know the whereabouts of his clients.

Bevin also skipped a previous hearing in the case the judge had asked him to attend, claiming he was tending to damage at his home in Maine from a boulder that crashed into it.

The judge directed Tuesday’s hearing to proceed without Matt Bevin, who is facing a 60-day jail sentence for contempt of court.

It’s unclear what will happen now. A spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department said he could be arrested if he’s stopped for some other reason, such as a traffic violation and the arrest warrant shows up on his record, but the office likely wouldn’t go out of state to try to locate him.

Matt Bevin initially attempted to join Tuesday’s hearing by Zoom, as he had previous hearings, but was directed by the judge to disconnect from the proceeding.

“My orders are clear,” Johnson said. “He is to be here in person.”

Midway through the morning, the judge briefly halted proceedings and asked an unidentified person who later joined the hearing by Zoom to identify themselves. When they did not, the judge ordered that person to disconnect.

The claim for support by Jonah is part of the Bevins’ divorce case. While the parents’ divorce became final last year, the case has remained pending over Jonah’s claims for financial and educational support and a final financial settlement by Matt and Glenna Bevin.

Much of the early testimony involved the Atlantis Leadership Academy in Jamaica where Jonah was placed by his parents in late 2023 at age 17. The facility was closed in February 2024 by Jamaican child welfare authorities who removed seven youths, all U.S. citizens.

The first witness was Post, the New York lawyer and child advocate.

Post said that Jonah appeared very depressed.

“He knew that his parents did not want him back in the United States,” she said.

Post said afterwards she hopes the case brings more attention to the “troubled teen” industry, largely for-profit, loosely regulated institutions that promise to provide care for teens but often fail to deliver.

“You just can’t warehouse kids and leave them in an abusive situation,” she said.