Jenelle Evans and her husband, David Eason, are likely facing assault and child neglect charges after her 14-year-old son (his stepson), Jace, ran away from home for the third time in two months. Local authorities and Child Protective Services (CPS) got involved when Jace accused Eason of child abuse.
According to TMZ’s law enforcement sources, investigators had an opportunity to speak with Jace last week and are expected to conclude the investigation ‘very soon.’ Charges for assault and neglect are also expected, but it’s unclear if those charges will be directed toward both Eason and Evans or just Eason.
At this time, Jace is no longer living with the couple and has been placed in CPS custody – though he’s currently being cared for by his grandmother, Barbara Evans (who practically raised him). According to the US Sun, Jace hasn’t been to school since August and has spent the majority of his days home alone.
Jace has now run away from home three times in the past two months, but it’s much more serious this time around. His first runaway attempt was on Aug.15 after he had his phone taken away for disciplinary reasons and his second runaway attempt was on Aug. 28, but he left the house to go to a gas station.
One month later, on Sept. 28, Jace snuck out of his mother’s home through a window and was reported missing by Jenelle shortly after. He was found the following day (Sept. 29) and was immediately taken to the hospital for a checkup. That’s when Jace accused his stepfather, David Eason, of assaulting him.
According to a report by TMZ, Jace had ‘visible marks on his neck and arm’ when he was found by local authorities and they also had video evidence of the alleged abuse in their possession (which occurred outside of someone’s home). A Ring camera from a nearby home caught and recorded the incident.
Jenelle Evans gave birth to Jace on August 2, 2009 – she was just 17 years old at the time and was in the midst of filming for 16 and Pregnant. She shares Jace with Andrew Lewis, but has two other children – a 9-year-old son, Kaiser, with her ex, Nathan Griffith, and a 6-year-old daughter, Ensley, with David Eason.
Jenelle Evans Ordered to Bring Two Children In for Questioning
The report by TMZ comes less than 24 hours after the US Sun reported that Jenelle Evans was ordered to bring her two younger children in for questioning. Investigators want her 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter questioned by a CPS caseworker away from their home and without David or Jenelle present.
“During the hearing on Wednesday the officials wanted to hear about any other abuse that might be going on with the other minors in the home,” said one source. “The judge asked a lot of questions about what Jace saw, and she took the allegations of abuse against the other minors in the home very seriously.”
They also reported that Jenelle is not allowed to speak to or see Jace unless the interaction is initiated by Jace, while Eason is banned from talking to or seeing him in any capacity. As of Oct. 14, a hearing is scheduled for later this month to check in with Jace and Barbara Evans to see how things are going.
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Barbara gained custody over Jace when he was an infant and remained his primary guardian for the next 13 years. It wasn’t until earlier this year (March 2023) that Barbara gave custody of Jace back to Jenelle Evans – which is when his issues at school and home were magnified. We should learn more very soon.