Former Ky Gov. Matt Bevin offers rare statement on case, loses extension on filings, arrest warrant issued

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Former Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin submitted some of the documents due today ahead of the deadline that, if missed, would sentenced him to serve 60 days in Louisville Metro Department of Corrections and to pay a $500 fine.

This order was part of the legal fight between Bevin, his ex-wife Glenna, and their adopted son, Jonah, who says the Bevins abandoned him in a now-closed abusive youth facility in Jamaica.

Initially, it appeared that the judge would grant an extension for Bevin’s filing but that ordered wasn’t signed by the judge. The judge followed up by issuing a warrant for Bevin’s arrest.

In addition to today’s filing deadline, Bevin issued a statement through his family attorneys.

In the statement, Bevin said that he and Glenna “love our son, Jonah, and want him to become the man God created him to be.”

He also claims that the judge in the case, the appellate courts, and the Kentucky Supreme Court know that the demand for retroactive child support, “is not allowed by law in Kentucky or any state in America.”

He continued by saying that “legal mayhem would ensue if it were allowed.”

Kentucky and other states do allow retroactive child support in specific circumstances. Whether or not this case meets one of those circumstances is unclear and up to the courts to decide.

Bevin used his statement, in part, to attack the judge, saying that she is “using her elected platform for partisan purposes that have no relation to the initial parameters of this case.”

He said the judge is “singularly focused on finding some way to put me in jail.”

In the statement, Bevin said that his family has tried to keep the proceedings private but that now they will have to discuss Jonah’s past, saying his “behavioral health, substance abuse, and criminal history will be played out for the self-serving purposes of those exploiting his vulnerabilities.”

He ended by saying the family would be there for Jonah to do what is “legally and personally right in his life.”

Previous Coverage by WAVE:

2nd arrest warrant recalled for former Ky. Governor Matt Bevin

Former Gov. Matt Bevin’s team asks for removal of judge in court case

Higher court recalls arrest warrant for former Ky. Gov. Matt Bevin