U.S. actor Shia LaBeouf has had his fair share of drama during his career. Still, less spoken about are the controversies he’s also had in his personal life.
Particularly LaBeouf has had a rocky relationship with his father, Jeffrey Craig LaBeouf. He has been living in Costa Rica since 2017 after evading his obligation to update his details with the sexual offenders’ registry in the US.
Jeffrey, a Vietnam war veteran, battled drug addiction, a struggle that profoundly impacted young Shia.
“When you’re 10-years-old and watch your father going through heroin withdrawals, you grow up real fast,” Shia reflected.
However, Shia’s breakout role in the hit Disney sitcom, Even Stevens, brought about a significant financial turnaround for his family. Despite this change in fortune, his relationship with his father remained complicated, with the young actor taking on the role of his father’s benefactor.
Jeffrey Craig LaBeouf’s Relocation to Costa Rica
Jeffrey Craig LaBeouf has had his encounters with the law. Even before Shia’s birth, Jeffrey was serving time for attempted rape.
In a 2019 interview with Gen’s Aaron Gell, he detailed the incident and the subsequent legal ramifications.
“I faced jail time for an attempted sexual offense. I can’t remember clearly, but I was heavily intoxicated from alcohol and cocaine. Seeing the victim in court was heart-wrenching,” he recalled. This confession led to a three-year sentence.
Despite his obligations as a registered sex offender, Jeffrey opted to move to Costa Rica in 2017.
“I’m not breaking any laws now. But the continuous scrutiny after my past offense tired me out. It feels like a life-long punishment, even though I haven’t committed any crimes since 1980,” he noted.
Given this background, speculations have arisen about whether Shia is financially supporting his father’s life in Costa Rica. Jeffrey, however, has refuted these claims.
“I’m managing my expenses here, but if things get tough, I know [my kids] will step in. The only uncertainty about my financial stability would be if military pensions cease. Otherwise, I’m comfortably settled here, even managing to allocate funds for small artistic ventures every month,” he affirmed.
