UPDATE: Jonah Bevin Has Now Obtained an EPO Against His Adoptive Father, Ex-GOP Governor, Matt Bevin

 

For the history of this story, see the post HERE and Jonah's GoFundMe page is HERE (sponsored by  the Themis Youth Law agency).

According to the latest article today, a judge granted an EPO to Jonah because he has now been receiving threats from Matt Bevin (but not Glenna Bevin), and he needed to come to Louisville to file child-abandonment charges against the couple.

Matt Bevin is to stay 400 feet from Jonah and to have no further contact with him.

Interesting the man had nothing to say to Jonah at all until he started speaking to press, isn't it? 

The article does not specify what the threats were, but I can tell you by personal experience, EPOs are not easy to obtain, so the judge must've been convinced.  

Not only do you have to have written proof, but the person has to live in the state you're filing from and you have to have their current address.

Note also that Matt's wife, Glenna, also has an EPO filed against her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Matt Bevin.

I'm ... beginning to understand why the Kentucky Adoption Program refused to allow the Bevins to adopt here, aren't you? 

They claimed it was political at the time, but methinks there were other indicators they weren't suitable parents.

After failing to obtain adoptions through the State of Kentucky, the Bevins thus adopted 4 children from Ethiopia, 2 girls and 2 boys, but sent the oldest of the two boys,  whom they paraded around during his gubernatorial campaign like prop dolls.

Then after Matt's crushing defeat at a chance for a second term, the Bevins sent Jonah off to the Atlantis Youth Facility for "troubled teens" in Jamaica and abandoned him there. 

It is important to add that this was NOT a juvenile detention center and there has been no criminal activity reported - they just felt him disobedient and troubled.

After evidence the children were beaten there, the facility disbanded, but the Bevins never contacted him and he had no place to go.

Paris Hilton's charity agency stepped in and helped not only provide evidence of the abused children there, but helped relocate him to Utah.

Just recently, Jonah came under the protection of youth lawyer, Dawn Post, with the Themis Youth Law Agency, he began to speak to Kentucky press about his experience - and only then did Matt Bevin contacted him, offering to send him back to Ethiopia!

(Apparently, these have become less offers and more threats from Matt Bevin?)

Regardless, please consider donating to Jonah?

This child, who just turned 18 a few weeks ago, has had enough trauma in life. 

His mother died in impoverished Ethiopia, he was adopted by a politician in America for show, then abandoned - can you imagine?

He now has two options - becoming as bitter and cynical as the people who did this to him or he can make up his mind to be that person towards others than he should've had.

Those of us with childhood trauma have had to make a similar choice - and in fact, all of us have to make that choice at some point in life - but can you imagine how Jonah's life is 100 times worse already?

Won't you help give Jonah hope and show him not all Kentuckians ... not all Americans ... not all Christians ... are this shallow, impatient with trauma, merciless and heartless? 

Again, his GoFundMe page, run by Dawn, is HERE. 

After I donated and sent a little message along with it, Dawn Post wrote me a wonderful little personal note about how she read my encouraging words to Jonah and how touched he was, and she promised updates from Jonah about his progress via GoFundMe (which she and Jonah have done). 

Bless you, Dawn, for what you're doing - both your bravery and your compassion!

It just burns me up these kids were used a political props and discarded like that, especially under the guises of "Christian parenting," and I hope the law feels the same way.