Reading Time: 3 minutes

David Eason’s long-delayed criminal case has finally come to an end — but not because a jury found him innocent or guilty.

The former Teen Mom 2 star had his felony assault-by-strangulation and child abuse charges dismissed Monday, nearly three years after he was accused of assaulting Jenelle Evans’ son, Jace.

David appeared in a North Carolina courtroom for the hearing, but Jace, Jenelle, and Jace’s grandmother, Barbara Evans, were not there.

According to a report from The Ashley’s Reality Roundup, David appeared noticeably more dressed-up than he had been for previous hearings, but showed little emotion throughout the proceedings.

The prosecution had apparently hoped to delay the case yet again. A prosecutor told the judge that Jenelle, Barbara and Jace had previously cooperated with the case but had stopped doing so within the past week.

The prosecution requested another continuance so officials could obtain additional information from the three family members.

The judge, however, had apparently reached the end of his patience with the seemingly never-ending case.

Rather than pushing the trial further down the road, the judge rejected the request for another continuance, with the court reportedly describing another delay as simply “kicking a can down the road.”

David’s public defender then asked the judge to resolve the case that day since the alleged victims and witness were no longer cooperating. The judge agreed.

Both of David’s criminal charges were dismissed, bringing an abrupt end to the case. A Columbus County Sheriff’s Office deputy had been subpoenaed to testify, but ultimately never took the stand.

In fact, the entire hearing reportedly lasted just 10 minutes.

David has maintained his innocence throughout the case. Jenelle has also repeatedly denied that David assaulted Jace, most recently claiming on Facebook in June that the alleged assault “never happened.”

The case dates back to September 2023, when Jace, then 14, reportedly ran away from Jenelle and David’s home and told police that David had assaulted him. Barbara subsequently told police what Jace had allegedly said.

David was initially charged with misdemeanor child abuse. The case later escalated to felony assault by strangulation after authorities determined Jace had visible injuries.

David later provided his own account of the incident in court documents, claiming that Jace had behavioral and mental health issues and that he had previously needed to restrain the teenager because of alleged attempts to run away and other concerning behavior.

Now, after years of delays, the criminal case is over.

There is one important caveat: The dismissal does not necessarily mean a court determined that the alleged assault never happened. Rather, prosecutors were unable to proceed after Jenelle, Jace, and Barbara stopped cooperating with the case.

The Ashley also reported that David’s protective order preventing him from being around Jace may now be dropped, although that had not yet been confirmed by the court at the time of publication.

Neither David, Jenelle nor Barbara had publicly commented on the dismissal as of Monday.

For once, though, David’s court calendar appears to have gotten a little less crowded.