A warrant of arrest was issued for former NCIS actress Zoe McLellan after she allegedly kidnapped her son, Sebastian, 8, as claimed by her ex-husband, Jean-Pierre Gillain, a.k.a. JP Gillain.
Gillain has told the Los Angeles court that he has not seen nor spoken to his boy since 2019. The father, who is also an actor, believes that McLellan and her son are living somewhere in New Orleans.
However, the actor's lawyers are still not certain of his ex-wife's whereabouts as she has gone off the grid and disappeared. The lawyers also alleged that McLellan, who has appeared in two seasons of the long-running hit drama series NCIS, has behaved in the same manner before.
In 2017, the actress took Sebastian to live with her in Toronto, where she was filming the Netflix series Designated Survivor. She did not inform nor asked her ex-husband of her plans to let the boy live with her in another country.
In late 2020, Gillain shared a photo on his Instagram to inform his followers that his ex-wife has "disappeared" with his son. The arrest warrant was issued in May 2021.
Cleared of Accusations
However, in 2018, amid a challenging custody battle, the Los Angeles court previously cleared McLellan of "abducting" her child and bringing Sebastian to Toronto. The judge in the case said that the mother did not take her son in bad faith as it was a necessary choice because she had to work in Canada. The judge also indicated in the ruling that both parties were aware she would have to fly out of America for work when she landed the role in the series.
Gillain's lawyers argued that Sebastian, then five years old, might not have a stable home life while living with his mother because he is usually left to the caretaker as the actress filmed long hours. The actor also tried to modify his child support payments because the mother and son moved out of the country, and he was not willing to pay for his son's private school fees in Canada.
However, the judge said that there had been no instances of domestic abuse while the boy was under the care of a nanny. Gillain was also told to continue paying $4,000 a month, regardless of Sebastian's living arrangement and studies abroad.
McLellan and Sebastian did not stay long in Toronto because Designated Survivor was canceled shortly afterward.
Charges Against Dad
In January 2020, Gillain landed in jail for four months after he was accused of abusing his son while he was still living in New Orleans. However, the charges of first-degree rape with aggravated crime against nature were dropped after the courts found no concrete evidence to convict the actor.
The incident allegedly happened after Gillain's separation from McLellan. The couple married in 2012 but divorced in 2016 after two years of living apart. At that time, Sebastian spent his time separately with both parents. The actress said that the charges against her ex had nothing to do with their dispute over Sebastian's custody.
Meanwhile, McLellan hasn't had any TV appearances since 2019, further sparking her disappearance. Gillain remains active on social media and recently appeared in HBO's Westworld.
