By Deborah Yetter
Kentucky Lantern
A judge has entered a restraining order barring Glenna Bevin from any contact with her adopted son, Jonah Bevin, following his request that his adoptive parents, former Gov. Matt Bevin and Glenna Bevin, be ordered to have no contact with him.
Matt Bevin already is subject to a six-month protective order barring him from any communication or contact with Jonah, who has alleged the Bevins abandoned him at age 17 in a brutally abusive youth facility in Jamaica.
Now 18, Jonah appeared in court last month, seeking orders to protect him from the Bevins — who are now divorced — alleging they tried to get him out of the country by hastily arranging a trip to Ethiopia where they claimed they had located his birth mother.
Jonah says in a court filing he believes they were trying to “get me to disappear.”
Neither Matt nor Glenna Bevin has responded to requests for comment.
Dawn J. Post, a lawyer representing Jonah, said she has been unable to verify the existence of a mother in Ethiopia whom Jonah had been told was dead since his adoption by the Bevins at age 5. He was one of four children the couple adopted from Ethiopia in 2012; they also have five biological children, all adults except one.
Post said Jonah is eager to learn any information about his mother or other relatives but her independent inquiry has not identified any proof they exist.
“We are going to pursue our own search,” she said. “It is still very important to him.”
The protective order issued Monday by Jefferson Circuit Judge Angela Johnson gives the Bevins seven days to provide all information in their possession about Jonah’s adoption and his biological family.
Meanwhile, another hearing in the case is scheduled April 21 on whether to seal the Bevins proposed divorce settlement. In a court filing last month, the couple reported to the judge they had reached a settlement but wanted it kept confidential and out of the public record to protect their privacy.
The Courier Journal and Jonah have both filed motions asking that it remain public. The media company argues the case is of public interest and Jonah argues he needs to know the information to be able to protect his interest, since he has had no support from his adoptive parents.
He also has alleged he experienced abuse and neglect in the Bevins’ home.
“At present, no one who has Jonah’s interest is involved in the litigation,” said the motion filed by Louisville lawyers John Helmers Jr. and Melina Hettiaratchi. “Jonah’s best guess is that his parents never revealed their abuse and neglect of him to this court, including their failure to meet his basic needs and to provide a safe home and a complete education as required by law.”
This story is reprinted from the Kentucky Lantern, a publication of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, under Creative Commons license.