LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin did not appear in court Tuesday for a hearing in his ongoing legal dispute involving child support payments for his adopted son.
The hearing began at 9 a.m. before Jefferson Family Court judge Angela Johnson. It wrapped up hours later without a decision.
The case involves Bevin's adopted son, Jonah Bevin, who was allowed to intervene in his parents' divorce proceedings in 2025 and is seeking retroactive child support payments.
While his ex-wife Glenna Bevin was in court, Matt Bevin's attorney said he wouldn't appear in person and could instead join the court by Zoom.
Johnson said he broke the demands of the court after being ordered to appear in person. Bevin tried to attend the hearing over Zoom but was not allowed access.
Jonah Bevin was absent to start the hearing due to weather-related travel delays but he took the stand after lunch.
"I flew all the way from Vegas to here, I haven't slept in a while," Jonah Bevin said. "I was just wanting to know why he didn't show up."
Jonah Bevin claimed Matt and Glenna Bevin never supported him as they sent him away to behavioral programs throughout his teenage years.
"Most of my life I wasn’t with them," Jonah Bevin said. "So, I don’t feel like they were my parents because they were paying other people to be parents."
He said he was physically abused in those programs, and that Matt Bevin and Glenna Bevin didn't believe him.
One of those programs was Atlantis Leadership Academy in Jamaica. Jonah Bevin said he was beaten until he lost consciousness on his third day there. The academy was shut down for reports of abuse while Jonah was there.
Matt and Glenna Bevin did go get him while he was left in Jamaica.Â
Glenna Bevin said she did not have a passport, and tried calling the U.S. Embassy but couldn't get help.
She claimed Tuesday that Jonah Bevin was aggressive and unsafe for her other children to be around, so they sent him to behavioral programs.
"I needed to keep him safe but I also needed to keep everyone else safe," she said.
Tuesday's hearing came after the Kentucky Court of Appeals earlier this month denied Matt Bevin's petition to block an arrest order issued by Johnson.
Johnson found Matt Bevin in contempt after ruling he failed to produce complete financial disclosures that were ordered by the court. The judge later issued an arrest order after a sentencing hearing.
Matt Bevin challenged the arrest order, arguing the family court should not have proceeded while his request to remove Johnson from the case was pending. In a July 14 ruling, however, the Kentucky Court of Appeals denied his petition, finding the case could move forward and allowing the arrest order and contempt ruling to remain in effect after the chief justice rejected the recusal request.
According to court records, Johnson ordered Matt and Glenna Bevin to provide complete, unredacted financial disclosures in March. After Jonah Bevin argued the records were not produced, the court found Matt Bevin in contempt and later issued the arrest order.
The dispute is part of the Bevins' ongoing divorce case, which has expanded beyond the dissolution proceedings. Jonah Bevin was permitted to intervene in the case in May 2025 to pursue a claim for child support, arguing he is entitled to retroactive support from his adoptive parents.
The lawyers now have 21 days to write a memorandum of their recommendations. After that, the judge will make her decision.
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