THE Animal Planet series “Call of the Wildman” has been rocked by a deadbeat dad scandal!
The ENQUIRER has learned that an arrest warrant has been issued for handyman Jake Ison – sidekick of the show’s star Ernie “Turtleman” Brown Jr. – for owing $5,000 in unpaid child support!
“Ernie Brown knows all about Jake’s legal problems, but he still keeps his pal on the show,” a source told The ENQUIRER.
“Kids love ‘Call of the Wildman,’ but Jake is certainly no role model. He’s nothing but a deadbeat bum!”
The hit show features “Turtleman” Brown catching and releasing nuisance animals, mostly huge, vicious snapping turtles.
Now sources close to the show are blasting his buddy Ison, claiming that the reality TV jack-of-all-trades is an out-of-control womanizer who has at least three children and supports none of them.
His estranged wife Shellie and the couple’s daughter Tristin Cheyenne, 11, live with Shellie’s mother, but Jake hasn’t visited the girl in six months, said the source.
Ison, 38, also has two children with an ex-wife in Tennessee, and documents from Kentucky’s Lincoln County Circuit Court show that he “committed the offense of flagrant non-support…in the amount of $12,658.41.” That amount was later reduced to $5,000.
“With the money he makes on ‘Wildman,’ Jake could easily pay child support,” fumed the source. “But he just doesn’t care. At least the authorities are involved now, so if Jake doesn’t pay up, he’s headed to jail.”
