LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin avoided jail time Friday after he turned over financial records in an ongoing family court case.
Bevin had until noon to provide the documents or face 60 days in jail.
Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson issued the order Thursday in the ongoing legal dispute involving Bevin, his ex-wife, Glenna Bevin, and their adopted son, Jonah Bevin.
Johnson previously ordered Matt Bevin to appear in person for a hearing last week about the case. Instead, Matt Bevin appeared via Zoom, citing property damage at his home in Maine, according to court records.
Johnson held Matt Bevin in contempt and ordered him to either serve 14 days in jail or pay a $250 fine. Court documents show the fine was paid, and a bench warrant issued in the case was later recalled.
This also isn't the first dispute over Matt Bevin's financial records. In March, Matt Bevin was issued a warrant and sentenced to 60 days in jail after a judge found him in contempt of court for failing to disclose financial information. That order was later paused while appellate courts considered Matt Bevin's request to remove Johnson from the case.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals ultimately allowed Johnson to remain on the case.
Jonah Bevin accused his parents of sending him to an abusive boarding school when he was a teenager. He's also made accusations of emotional and physical abuse, and obtained an emergency protective order against Matt Bevin.
Matt Bevin is due back in court June 15.
He shared the below statement through his lawyer:
"We love our son, Jonah, and want him to become the man God created him to be. That has never waivered from the moment he was adopted by our family when he was five years old.
This case currently in Judge Johnson’s court, is not a case about child support. Both Glenna and I have contributed fully to the financial well being and care of every one of our nine children and continue to do so for the sole child still in our home. There is no claim or demand by either of us for child support from the other.
Supposedly, this case was to explore whether or not an adult (in this case, our son, Jonah) could sue their parents for divorce and/or for retroactive child support which that adult believes they are entitled to. Understandably, this demand is not allowed by law in Kentucky or any state in America. Legal mayhem would ensue if it were allowed. The judge knows this. The appellate courts and the Supreme Court of Kentucky know this.
Now, however, it appears to many that Judge Johnson is using her elected platform for partisan purposes that have no relation to the initial parameters of this case. The shift from examining potential need for retroactive child support, to what it has turned into today, which now seems singularly focused on finding some way to put me in jail, does nothing to resolve this case. It makes a mockery of Kentucky and our court system, and comes at a great cost to those families whose real cases keep getting pushed aside for a case in which no legal basis even exists.
Many have wondered why, as Jonah’s parents, we have never publicly responded to the false allegations that have been made against us. The reasons, despite our effort to have them handled privately, have now been forced by this judge and Jonah’s attorneys to be publicly discussed in detail in her courtroom next month. We have tried repeatedly to have this case discussed in private for Jonah’s sake. The judge has refused. So now, the truth of his behavioral health, substance abuse and criminal history will be played out for the self-serving purposes of those exploiting his vulnerabilities. This will not be good for Jonah, who we have always tried to protect.
When this case is finally resolved, his family will still be right here, where we have been from the start; always available and willing to help Jonah do what is legally and personally right in his life. We hope and pray that day comes soon."
This story may be updated.
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