By Sarah Ladd
Kentucky Lantern
LOUISVILLE — Jonah Bevin has secured a six-month protective order against his adopted father, former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.
Jonah, 18, smiled as he left a fourth floor courtroom in downtown Louisville after a Tuesday hearing before Jefferson County Family Court Judge Angela Johnson, who approved an order agreed to by the parties.
“I got what I needed. I got the protection order,” Jonah said. “I felt like the judge … understood. I felt like she’s more kind.”
He also called out Matt Bevin for “intimidating” him in court last week.
“That was pretty stressful, but I like the way it turned out. It turned out good today,” he said.
In contrast with his Friday appearance before Johnson, when he represented himself and questioned Jonah, Matt Bevin had legal representation in court Tuesday and barely spoke.
The protective order, which all parties agreed to, says Matt Bevin cannot contact Jonah for six months. If there are no violations, the order will transition into a civil restraining order.
Under this order, “the protections afforded to any victim of domestic violence would be in full force and effect,” Jonah’s lawyer, John Helmers, said in court.
Then, “if there are any violations, my client (will) be afforded the protections of a domestic violence victim,” Helmers said.
While the former governor is subject to a protective order, Glenna Bevin, his ex-wife, negotiated a civil restraining order. Glenna Bevin, who attended court via Zoom Tuesday, said in a statement that “this situation has been extremely difficult and painful for our entire family.”
“I am glad it is over and the case against me is dismissed,” she said. “I love my children and want what is best for all of them.”
The extended order also directs the Bevins to provide Jonah, via his attorneys, information about his biological family.
“That should not be required for this young man to learn about who his family is,” Judge Johnson said. “And I’ll leave that there. That should be done regardless.”
Jonah has said he had been told that his biological mother is dead but that Matt Bevin recently contacted him with an offer to reunite him with his mother if he left immediately for Ethiopia.
The judge also clarified to Matt Bevin: “While this is in effect, let’s just say that this young man goes into McDonald’s and you happen to interact with him. You have to leave, not him. You can’t contact him by social media, by third party message, by message. You cannot contact him. You can’t post on social media a message that is meant for him. You cannot have a gun while this order is in effect. Any violation of this will be considered a criminal offense.”
Bevin ignored reporters who asked him questions as he left the courtroom.
‘Huge step’
Jonah was adopted by the Bevins at age 5 from Ethiopia. He alleges he experienced abuse and neglect in the Bevin home, culminating in his abandonment at a brutally abusive youth facility last year in Jamaica while he was 17.
Tuesday’s order extends the temporary protective order he obtained on March 7 against Matt Bevin, saying he fears him and wants no contact with him.
Dawn J. Post, a New York lawyer and child advocate who is also representing Jonah, said after the hearing that the extension is “a very important first step.”
“Jonah is an amazing, wonderful, intelligent young man. I am so glad that he had the opportunity to speak his truth,” Post said.
She also said she expects other youth from the Jamaica facility to file cases in the future.
“This is not the end of this journey, but it is a huge step for all the boys who were told repeatedly, ‘no one will believe you, everyone will believe that you’re liars, you’re just liars and manipulators,’” Post said. “And that’s not true, and whether or not race plays a part in this or not, the fact is that Jonah finally was able to have his truth spoken and he was heard. And I really, really appreciate that fact.”
Jonah Bevin also expressed gratitude for the chance to share his story and be heard.
“A lot of the kids get adopted by rich, white families, and they don’t get to speak what they need to speak. People don’t hear them out. People don’t know what’s going on, because it looks like to everybody that … Matt Bevin had everything figured out in his life. But he had nothing figured out,” Jonah said. “There’s an image they want people to see, and they don’t want an actual image of what’s actually going on in their homes. And today we brought it out. We brought out what he didn’t want people to see.”
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.
It’s a good day for Jonah and for justice. It is a sad day, when a former leader of our state did not step up and do the moral imperative to care for his adoptive son, and to not abuse him. It is a sad commentary on the state of our country, when politicians only do what is right when ordered to do so by a judge.