Jon Gosselin accuses Kate of child abuse, says Collin was 'locked up' for no reason: 'She couldn't deal with him'
Jon Gosselin has made some serious allegations against his ex-wife. In an interview with DailyMailTV, the former Jon and Kate Plus 8 star accused Kate Gosselin of child abuse. He said he's only speaking out about the alleged abuse now as a 10-year gag order imposed during their 2009 divorce settlement has ended.
Gosselin, 42, revealed that he has received "50 to 60" letters from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services over the years notifying him that allegations of suspected child abuse were being investigated. (DailyMailTV posted copies of some of the letters.) Many claims involved Collin, the couple's now 15-year-old son. Kate publicly declared Collin had "special needs," which required him to be enrolled in a full-time program away from home to help "him learn the skills he needs to be the best him he can be.” However, Jon said that's simply not true, and claimed Kate sent "difficult" and "stubborn" Collin away at age 11 because she couldn't handle him.
"Other than ADHD, which is extremely common, Collin has never been diagnosed with any known medical condition, there's nothing wrong with him," Jon claimed. "But Kate sent him away, she couldn't deal with him. He was alone for three and a half years with no parents, all locked up. It was inhumane."
Jon claimed that while Collin was "caged" for years, Kate only visited their boy three times — for less than two hours in total — while refusing to tell him where his son was. Jon said he first realized something was amiss when Collin stopped showing up to private school with his seven other kids. When he asked the family guidance counselor about it, he was told Kate was home-schooling Collin.
"I was like, this is weird, something was just really fishy," he recalled. Months later, around March 2016, two sheriffs came to his home.
"I was like, 'What's this about?' The sheriff goes, 'Collin's been sent away to a special needs place. We can't tell you where. But the reason we're here is because he claims his mother abused him,'" Jon recounted. "I'm like, ‘Where is he?’ I'm super-worried. So I'm calling my manager. I'm calling everyone, my mom's freaking out and they won't tell me where he is because I didn't have joint legal rights. I raised the money to get a lawyer and went through the courts to get joint legal custody."
He learned of Collin's whereabouts after receiving a letter his son penned in crayon begging for help; Collin's older roommate at Fairmount Behavioral Health Institute in Philadelphia supposedly smuggled the letter out. A copy of the letter was published on the Daily Mail. ("Daddy, I love you. Save me. Please come FAST. I love you. Help me. BYE," part of it reads.)
"While I'm going through the process I get this shocking letter from Collin. It was so upsetting, it made me even more determined to get him out," Jon continued.
He was awarded joint custody, but it took 18 months to get Collin out as he had to go through various legal steps. His son was also moved to a different institution. Now, Jon now has full sole physical and legal custody of Collin, who he said suffers PTSD because of the alleged abuse.
"I know my children have suffered abuse and I know one day they're going to tell their own story," Jon said. "And sadly enough, I know what PTSD is. It's really upsetting."
Yahoo Entertainment reached out to a representative for Kate regarding the child abuse allegations, but did not receive a response. (The Department of Human Services ultimately determined abuse reports were "unfounded" due to a lack of evidence.) Jon said that Kate's "pattern of abuse" included running a military-esque regimen, making the kids do chores and tasks beyond what any normal child should endure.
"I understand trying to teach discipline, but they can't even be kids," he said.
"I have watched my children suffer and I have not been able to say a word," Jon added, referring to the gag order. "Kate wanted the gag order because she didn't want me speaking the truth."
Jon noted that Collin is thriving under his care.
"He's an honor roll student. He's really smart, he's really intuitive, I'm very proud of him," Jon stated. The former reality star, who now works as an IT director for a community health center, also has custody of his 15-year-old daughter Hannah.
"I have rules, you know, I'm a dad of five daughters, but Hannah had had enough, she was always labeled the leader of the pack," he shared. "She just got tired of being the leader of the pack and all that responsibility. She just wanted to be a kid. Kate targeted her."
Kate has custody of four of the other 15-year-old sextuplets — Leah, Alexis, Joel and Aaden. Twins Mady and Cara are off at college. Jon isn't in contact with his other children and he fears for the safety of the kids living with his ex.
"I do know what she's capable of, whether it's mental or physical," he said. "I have two kids in my house who left a whole pile of money behind. They left fame and money and came to my house. They left it all behind."
He added, "I think Kate has really poisoned my children's minds against me. She's put stuff in their minds about my personality. I never cheated on my wife, I'm not a monster, I love my children more than anything. I brought Collin home. He's a great kid."
Jon said he's turned down offers to be on reality television because he just wants "a good upbringing for my children. I want them to be children and not on television anymore and I want them to live good, healthy, normal lives."
Despite everything, Jon is open to co-parenting with Kate.
"I want the family unit together, I even want to co-parent," he said.
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