****Note: The following story is profoundly disturbing. It involves details of child molestation. Trigger warning
You just knew it was going to get worse, but even this stunned me. Earlier this week, In Touch Weekly reported that back in 2005, Jim-Bob Duggar (the patriarch of the Duggar family/cult) turned in his oldest son Josh to the local Arkansas police. At the time, Josh was 17, and the police opened up an investigation after Jim-Bob said that he caught Josh sneaking out of a bedroom belonging to a female minor. The earlier report was extremely vague, but yesterday In Touch released a longer, more detailed report, based on a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) filig for the police report concerning Josh Duggar – you can see the documentation here at ITW. As it turns out, the actual crimes took place more in the 2002-03 years and by the time the police investigation was opened, the statute of limitations was passed in most cases. In Touch Weekly’s reporting (based on redacted police reports) is detailed, and I’m only publishing a portion:
Jim Bob Duggar waited more than a year after his son confessed to sexually molesting several female minors before contacting police. What’s more, Jim Bob informed the elders of his church about Joshua’s actions and they waited three months before contacting authorities. Jim Bob also refused to allow police to interview Josh when they opened a felony investigation in 2006. (Note: that Josh’s name is redacted from the police report but In Touch has confirmed the passages that refer to him.) Josh Duggar was investigated for multiple sex offenses, including forcible fondling, against five minors. Some of the alleged offenses investigated were felonies.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar were interview by the Springdale Police department on Dec. 12, 2006. The report says that James told police he was alerted in March, 2002 by a female minor that Josh had been touching her breasts and genitals while she slept. This allegedly happened on multiple occasions. Josh turned 14 on March 3, 2002. In 2006, Jim Bob told police that in July, 2002 Josh admitted to fondling a minor’s breasts while she slept. “James said that they disciplined (redacted, Josh) after this incident.” The family did not alert authorities. Jim Bob told police that about nine months later in March, 2003 “there was another incident.” Josh was again accused by a female minor of touching her breasts and genitals. Josh was accused by several minors of touching their genitals, often when they slept, but at times when they were awake.
Jim Bob then “met with the elders of his church and told them what was going on.” No one alerted the police or any other law enforcement agency. Instead they decided to send Josh to a “program [that] consisted of hard physical work and counseling. James said that [redacted, Josh] was in the program from March 17, 2003 until July 17, 2003.” He said the program was a “Christian program.” Michelle Duggar later admitted to police that Josh did not receive counseling and instead had been sent during that time to a family friend who was in the home remodeling business. Asked about the training center that Jim Bob said Josh was sent to, Michelle told police, according to the report, “it was not really a training center. Det. [Darrell] Hignite asked if the guy [redacted, Josh] talked to was a certified counselor. She said no. She said it was a guy they know in Little Rock that is remodeling a building. Det. Hignite asked if the guy was more of a mentor. She said “kind of.”
The Duggars told police that Josh “apologized” to the female minors and that they had “forgiven” him. An alleged victim told police in 2006 that Josh had told “mother and dad what had happened… (and) asked for forgiveness. The report notes the alleged victim says Josh “sought after God and had turned back to God.” Jim Bob told police that “several members of their church were aware of the situation and had been supportive of the family.” Police interviewed several of the alleged minor victims in December, 2006. They told police that Josh had touched their breasts and sex organs.
Jim Bob told police in 2006 that when Josh returned home in 2003 Jim Bob, accompanied by some of his church elders, took Josh to Arkansas State Trooper Jim Hutchens. Jim Bob knew Hutchens personally. Hutchens did not take any official action and instead gave Josh a “very stern talk.” As In Touch magazine reports exclusively in this week’s issue, Hutchens is now serving 56-years in prison for child pornography. He took no action on the Duggar case.
Just a few hours after In Touch Weekly’s report came out, TMZ had more details about the actual numbers – Josh was investigated for molesting five girls, “some of whom are his sisters.” Which is horrific. TMZ also says that the police are going to destroy the investigation reports because one of the victims is concerned that her name will become public.
Then late last night, the Duggars issued statements to People Magazine exclusively – you can read the statements here. Josh admits to the crimes, saying:
“Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends,” Josh, 27, tells PEOPLE in a statement. “I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life. I would do anything to go back to those teen years and take different actions. I sought forgiveness from those I had wronged and asked Christ to forgive me and come into my life. In my life today, I am so very thankful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.”
He also resigned from his position as a lobbyist for the Family Research Council, because of course he did. People also got statements from Jim-Bob and Michelle about how difficult Josh’s actions were for them (no mention of his victims, some of whom were their daughters?). There’s also a statement from Josh’s wife Anna, who says that Josh came clean with her about his previous assaults on children before he and Anna even got married.
Oh and just FYI, in case you were wondering… Josh is the father of three children, Mackynzie, Marcus and Michael.
Update by Celebitchy: TLC seems to have realized that it wasn’t the best PR move to air a 19 Kids and Counting marathon in the midst of this horrible news. TMZ reports that TLC has pulled all future episodes of the show from the schedule and that while “they absolutely have not made a long-term decision… it’s clearly a bad sign for the show.”
Photos courtesy of Josh Duggar’s social media.
The fourth child is on the way. A girl.
It’s great that he has one daughter and another on the way, he doesn’t have to look far when the urge to fondle or molest strikes again, and of course it will be the kids’ faults because they caused daddy to “stumble”.
What’s crazy is you’re so right. I worked with kids a long time and they get blamed for their own molestation all the time. It’s disgusting to me how many people are rushing to say oh he said he’s sorry, we all make mistakes, all families have issues, who are we to judge, an so on. Makes me want to vomit.
According to a poster on another website who revealed all of this and more in 2007, appearing before church elders, Josh claimed his actions were due to being tempted by the girls’ tight blouses.
One of the girls, 8 years old, appeared before the church elders to confess that she had masturbated. (Sexually abused, anyone?)
Take it with a grain of salt, I guess, these were two posters on an old blog who convincingly described their view from the inside of the church.
http://www.ibiblio.org/bascha/blog/2006/03/21/gigantic-family-day-on-tlc/
@springforward, those posters were spot on. Wow.
and these same people making excuses for Josh place the blame fully on 12-year-old Tamir Rice for bringing a toy to the park
that’s messed up
springforward, that is so awful.
The worst part…it confirms my fears: that the girls were being in part blamed for this, and criticized for how they dealt with it.
My heart breaks for those girls.
@springforward, cringe reading is an understatement but good on the posters calling them out years ago with the knowledge of what was happening in their church. After reading it, a bigger shock is why wasn’t this caught earlier by the blog o sphere or even showrunners? They had to know. TLC is very guilty of turning a blind eye because they had to know this was happening.
So true, buzz. I also remember the case from a few months ago of the young missionary who abused (beyond molestation) those many children in Kenya who claimed that a demon made him do it. It ‘told’ him to do this before he even went, he still went and yet he had his whole imbecilic town going misty-eyed. His bail amount was also what you could call a cosmic joke. His punishment: he had to live at home. So, he had the compulsion to abuse kids before he even left the damn country, still went and people pity him? Give me a fucking break–and I suppose the demon held him up at Skittle-point, too. Once again, the world shows us who it values and the world is beyond redemption because you know damn well he wouldn’t last a day if this same evil was committed against Madison, Dakota and Braeden.
Makes you wonder how many of his daughters ole JimBob messed with while Michelle sat around and did nothing to protect them. That whole family is sick.
WOW Thanks for posting that @springingforward.
“All the time he was going on Prono sites on the internet and watching all the filth that it has. The temptation was too much and he explored with his sisters.”
Explored with his sisters. Damn. It was all out there and noone said anything.
I feel sooo bad for those girls. I wonder if there’s some repressed anger in them that will come out later. 🙁
I also wanted to add that it’s interesting that the Duggars were using the pornography angle to explain Josh’s behavior.
Sexual repression, being taught females are inferior to males so he has the right to use their bodies without their consent, etc. No problem! But Josh gets on some porno sites and that’s why he’s sneaking into his sisters’ room and molesting them. Geez. I 100% believe this woman’s account because she sort of sounds like a fundamentalist herself. She seems to be dismissing Josh’s molestation as “exploration” and is more angry that the Duggars are being hypocrites for other reasons.
@springforward. –
I wonder if that’s enough proof for old Robert (in those comments) now.
I’d love to hear his thoughts on how this has played out!
@Layla YES! I really want all those commenters to chime back in now!!
He was a teen when he did this. To state that he will molest his own kids is very irresponsible. Unfortunately, this often happens among siblings and while it’s horrible and scarring for the girls, it doesn’t mean he’s a pedophile. The amount of ignorance around this is stunning.,
I have always hated the adoration this family receives. My mom is one of 18. I know the sort of neglect and sexual abuse that runs rampant in these sort of families. My uncle molested two generations of women in my family. And now that his victims are speaking out, they are being blamed. And he’s was also the oldest boy. The girls in this family never stood a chance.
This is sadly true. My mom was one of eleven, and one of her brothers raped at least two of the sisters (including her). His grown daughters won’t have anything to do with him, which makes me suspect that he molested them too. This only came out recently, so who knows what else this man has done over the years.
Anyway, I think that when there are so many kids, there’s no ability to give them proper supervision and emotional/mental support.
That in combination with ‘Christian’ hypocrisy and the idea that men are above women, while women are silenced.
I also have no respect for people who put so many children on the world. There are too many people already, without them adding way beyond their fair share.
The most heartbreaking thing is how many wack jobs are defending him. “He was a young teenage boy with natural curiosities”, “Let those of you with no sin cast the first stone”. No wonder rape is so prevalent. Boys will be good Christian boys.
As I read on another site – I’ve never molested children, I feel QUITE happy casting the first stone.
Amen.
LOL funny but a great comment
I always thought Josh Duggar gave off a creepy vibe and sure enough, he’s a child molester. Those poor little girls. They couldn’t defend themselves over a dominant male who knew how to control them. His father is no better. He tried to cover it up until the statute of limitations was up and Josh would not be charged. People adores this sick family and runs a nonsensical story about them every day, nothing so far today though……hmmm. So now we’ve got a child molester and an animal abuser to add to the freak show. Hopefully, TLC will finally wise up and drop this show, cash cow or not.
Same here! The statute of limitations may have run out but that doesn’t stop the victims from suing them for money in civil court! 😉
I feel sorry for his abused sisters and his daughters. No I don’t think he’s “cured.” I hope he rots in hell.
Some stones need to be cast….when we are talking child molestation!
Well said ponytail. I think it’s the holier than thou attitude of these people until they are caught that really bugs me. The hypocrisy.
This is what I picked up as well. As long as you are white and pretend to be Christian, there is no outrage when your crimes are hidden from authorities and you molest young girls. In fact, so many dumb people will fall over backward and paint you as the victim, the innocent, and totally ignore the female victims here. Note that there is almost no mention of the actual victims, some as young as 8 when they were molested. These people sicken me. There was crime here and so many people want to ignore that.
Apparently TLC is the pedophilia channel – they sure do promote enough of them.
Seriously, TLC you need to step up your vetting process.
What really pissed me off was the parents statement about how this had brought them all closer to God.
Even when your big brother who actually raises you because your actual parents are busy populating the earth, is molesting you God is just trying to teach you a lesson so you can draw closer to Heaven. Amen.
How do you figure there’s no outrage?
@ Jay – So far, no word from TLC. My guess is that they won’t drop their cash cow family. And if you look at the comments on other sites, they are filled with people tripping over themselves making excuses for these scumbags. If this had happened in any other family, the show would have been dropped immediately and politicians and the media would be all over the sickness of these people. Sure, some people are upset, but there is a large Christian contingency trying to say that poor Joshie is being persecuted for being “curious.”
@Josephine I’m more than outraged. There is no excuse for this behavior, the cover-up and these people allowed to remain on TV. I remember when TLC had shows about history and art. I have no idea what happened to a once great channel. This show and this family need to be taken off air immediately. Child molestation knows no color, socio-economic or religious boundaries. It is the most evil thing in the world, and they covered it up. TLC needs to stop this now.
Josh’s wedding in 2008 was televised. He and his wife exchanged their “first kiss” after the ceremony because it is not proper to kiss before marriage. Really, this was the storyline!
You left something out — you need to be politically conservative as well. Otherwise, all bets are off.
Not only no outrage but they ran a duggar marathon when the news exploded. Someone at TLC should be fired for that.
I agree with your comment and believe that him and his entire family are a bunch of religious Republican Thugs.
@ Jay – TLC had the audacity to run a 19 Kids and Counting marathon today. That is a FAR cry from outrage. While of course my heart breaks for this piece of shit’s victims, my immediate thought was how many Republicans have voiced their adoration of this family. I’m an Independent voter and I have no opposition to either major political party, but it just goes to show how too many people in this country use their religion as a crutch and something to hide behind, and that there are a lot of people out there who need to join the 21st century and get their heads out of their asses. 19 kids? That is a freak show, not something admirable. Every comment anyone from this family has ever made has been disgusting, disturbing, or appalling. This guy is so depraved that he even molested his own siblings.
@Dr.Funkenstein – Your comment is spot on. Their conservative political beliefs has unfortunately garnered them the support of many loser members of the Republican party. Again, I have no problem with either major political party, but there are a lot of politicians on both sides of the aisle that need to retire and fade away (Mike Huckabee, anyone?). I have to admit, I’m curious to see how this plays out and what repercussions there will be, if any, seeing as how many people have come out in defense of this disgusting, bible-thumping, delusional family.
In some ways I’m glad that these disgusting families got shows on TLC because otherwise they would have gotten away with their crimes without even a public shaming. It’s good that this hypocrisy has been laid bare for the entire world to see because these people act so sanctimonious, always judging others. I have my own personal stories of meeting religious people who love to judge others while doing the nasty in their own personal lives. One guy I knew supported the persecution of gays in Africa but was hounding girls on a college campus while his wife was in another country taking care of their handicapped son. Another religious and anti-gay Christian woman always loved to judge other women’s being sluts but she of course was no virgin and was committing her own sins without any guilt. I have many more stories but it would take an entire blog post.
@Josephine
This has nothing to do with race. Absolutely nothing.
Every religion cover up their ‘dirty little secrets’ of both leaders and members to protect their reputation. Never mind those whose childhoods were stolen.
It’s all about the money. Always has been and always will be.
Pray it away, just keep paying your dues.
Yes, it reminds me of the Steubenville case: where even CNN bended over backwards to bewail the future of the boys who did this.
You can say about Western Europe what you want, but it’s not normal for major news outlets to react in that way to sex offenders.
American (mainstream) media needs to clean up its act. This is why internet is so important, by the way, so there are sites like this one to act as a counterbalance.
I’m honestly ill. Read the police docs last night and was horrified. Thank goodness for Oprah because she is the reason the investigation and DCFS were even called. The trooper Josh was turned into tried to bury the case and was later convicted on pornography charges. And then the church and the parents sat on the case until Josh was legally clear.
His victims were as young as 4 years old. So by order of elimination the only 5 possibilities are Jana, Jessa, Jill, Jinger and Joy Anna. The only definites from what I could tell were Joy Anna and Jana who were 12 and 4 respectively at the time. It’s a toss up as to who the other two sisters were. I can’t decide what is worse: that Josh sneaked into his sisters room for well over a year, the fact that they covered it up or the possibility that any of these girls could have some mental scars that will never heal because they never got help and were forced to live with him.
And yes I believe TLC knew. I feel like Oprah would’ve contacted them. The fact that they ran a marathon last night and are airing another tonight is sickening. You bet I blasted them online last night. Haven’t watched TLC in year but every new show is offensive BS…including their new show about (not) gay husbands. Wtf
This all makes sense of why Jana is the way she is. Poor girl.
For sure it had to be Jana. She’s the oldest girl and has not courted nor does she seem interested in getting married, which is what you *have* to do when you are a member of that family. Also, this news is not that shocking when I’ve always found it weird how he’s not close with his sisters, or at least not close in that their relationship seems awkward and uncomfortable. Such a sad story!
TLC had to know. Someone on another site posted a link where someone claimed that Josh had molested his younger sisters and confessed to the church and the parents were trying to hide it from the rest of the world. The holy rollers were going nuts shouting her down, but this person was insistent and her details completely match the police report. The post was dated 2007.
ETA – it’s the link someone posted further up. Biblio something.
Not all five he molested were his sisters. At least two were non-family members of their church and the events occurred on church grounds.
Oh my heart for the girls. I am a 42 year old mom of 2 happily married professional. I am an adult survivor of child sex abuse by a family friend. I still struggle with this. My heart for these girls. I was there and have little girls now too.
@Coco: I think you deserve a lot of praise.
You are worth infinitely more than your abuser.
At least the parents took it seriously and intervened (I.e. rather than blaming his victims), so I guess there’s that, but this is what sexual repression does, so the parent are still part of the problem. Yes, teenagers – boys and girls – have urges. And when you teach them those urges are dirty and sinful, giving them no outlet to even discuss and better understand those urges, you create a powder keg. I’m not giving him a pass. 14 is old enough to know better. But their whole community fosters a profoundly unhealthy sexual culture and should be held accountable.
They didn’t take it seriously. They sat on the first allegation FOR A YEAR. Then continued to cover it up and sent all of his victims to “counseling” along with Josh.
Not real counseling mind you. One sponsored by the church. Sent Josh to a church farm for a little while so he could “pray it away” then brought him back to the house
No, they didn’t take it seriously by the standards of decent people, but they clearly saw it as a problem and followed the accepted procedures of their community. I’m not defending them *at all*. but it’s such a sick, twisted, sexually repressed, hate filled culture to begin with that I find myself surprised that they even considered his behavior a problem. So, I was trying to acknowledge that much.
I feel you. I just can’t give them an inch. I always disliked this family and I knew something was up with them just based on past history of religious sects like this one. But this is disgusting.
I don’t think you can even give them credit for that. Because the officer Jim Bob took when to was a friend and is now serving 60 years in prison for child pornography and this is his second time serving for the same crime.
It makes you wonder if the Digger girls were one of his victims.
I see it that way too Bettyrose. Intertwining sex and religion so much is just dangerous to a young mind. I was surprised that the parents actively tried to do something (minimal, yes) rather than completely cover it up, so I guess, kind of better than awful?
I think people are often willfully blind. I bet most of them don’t read the details and imagine a 15 year old boy clumsily and mutually groping his 14 year old girlfriend (which is yucky, but neither here nor there). And then they start defending.
The fact that these girls were way younger, not to mention his sisters, gets ignored and people move on in ignorant bliss. I guess it’s too tough to think of your fellow Christian as a molesting scum bag.
I’m not surprised that the uber religious crazies are surrounding him. Gotta protect their own. And yes, those girls must have tempted him somehow. *eyeroll*
And you KNOW that those girls are going to be browbeaten into ‘forgiving’ him because #Jesus. So when everyone continues to talk about how awful he is, his supporters will be able to claim the victims forgave him and we should all forgive him to. And then they’ll parade the victims out to talk about forgiveness to.
I’m 100% not surprised at ALL.
Well at least he didn’t commit a REAL sin like engaging in a same sex relationship between two consenting people though. Amirite?! #Jesus
(Sarcasm)
IKR? Diddling your little unwilling sisters is so much better then screwing around with an appropriately aged, non-sibling girl (or boy) friend. Cause that is the real sin, healthy sexual experiences.
Seriously, these people are so messed up and what really freaks me out, Josh the perv has 3 kids, one on the way. He shouldn’t even be around children, gah.
AWWW yeah TX!
What is doubly rich is that during the last election cycle, Michelle Duggar made a robocall about homosexuals saying that same sex marriage would lead to homosexuals molesting children. Seriously….
Hypocrites to the nth degree.
Hypocrisy is amazing.
Ironic that its Harvey Milk Day as well.
So…if I follow Michelle’s “logic,” JOSH DUGGAR IS GAY?!?
Genius has its limits, but ignorance knows no bounds.
I truly believe we are only dealing with the surface of this molestation, my heart tells me there is a history of sexual abuse in this family. Most therapist say that when a child is this young and molests young kids he himself was molested. Why would the mother continue to keep having all these children, maybe it was to prevent her children from being molested. I could be wrong there just seems to be a lot of covering up shredding documents and information being withheld for my liking with no one really caring for the children who without therapy may become sexual predators ( not a fault of there own). TLC should be ashamed for there inaction until the public outrage forced there hand.
Yeah it’s telling how many people believe that diddling your sister is just oh so normal.
“Let those among you who have no sins cast stones”
Yah, I’ve never molested anyone, so I’m pretty ok with throwing some rocks. God, his chinless face creeps me out.
+1
Let’s bury him under a pile of boulders and hope he never manages to crawl out again.
Ok… So – What we’re saying is, a 15 year old boy, having grown up in an environment where sex was probably considered a vile horrible sin that I’m sure they never discussed, we’re expecting him to have acted in a mature and adult way regarding his sexuality?
What if he’d been 12 and done this – would we be reacting the same way? Because from what I understand, he wasn’t an adult… At 15 people are acting like he was a full-fledged grown up, predatorial, rape-van by the elementary school, child molester and that we’re going to punish and condemn him as such….
Not only are we tearing down a person for what they did as a child we aren’t even recognizing his self-awareness and humility in the face of that shame… Even though he states that he recognized that this was inappropriate and went to the people who were his caregivers to confess, willingly submitted to those that said they could help him and participated in that *therapy*, and THEN apologized to those he’d hurt…
I’m one of those that feels like he was a child and acted like an a**hole for the sake hormones, immaturity and stunted development due to his crappy upbringing… but I don’t agree that we should condemn him as some kind of predator at 15.
15 is old enough to know not to fondle your siblings while they sleep for Christ’s sake. Their therapy was junk and I’m sure the girls apologized in turn for tempting him. No legs to stand on with that comment.
Doing it in the middle of the night when Mom and Dad are sleeping + his subsequent “confession” to them = he knew it was wrong.
If the statute of limitations hadn’t run out, he would have been charged with multiple counts of forcible fondling and second degree sexual abuse. He did it to one sister while she sat on his lap and he read her a story. It happened multiple times to multiple girls over a period of many months.
How does it feel to be a child rape apologist?
We REALLY need to stop trying to justify or excuse his behavior simply because he grew up in a religiously oppressive family. Not every religious extremist molests children. There is something profoundly wrong with Josh Duggar-whether you want to call it a sickness, a proclivity, or just sick f*cking behavior (my choice) this is NOT normal behavior for ANY 15-year-old boy. It is NOT typical for 15-year-old boys to molest their 4 or 8-year-old sisters.
Add to that the fact that the family and local church community, even law enforcement all aided in the cover-up of these sickening crimes and you have a tragedy of epic proportions. Every person involved in this from Josh to TLC to Jim Bob to the church to Anna Duggar to the police officer who did nothing should be held accountable for this.
It seriously blows my mind that anyone can try to rationalize or excuse molestation of a CHILD.
I think I need to leave this thread before I start to get really angry….
15 is old enough to know what the words “incest” and “molestation” are. I’m not giving him a pass on this one. Yes he didn’t have intercourse with his sisters but he damned well touched them and that’s gross.
He did this for YEARS….to multiple girls. He knew it was wrong. And most predators aren’t a guy in a van at a school. I’d like you to sit face to face with one of the young girls who were molested multiple times in their own bed and say “it wasn’t so bad- he was only 15 & not some guy in van. He was just your brother that you had to keep living with”. Your post & thought logic is exactly why hardly any sex crimes result in convictions or any punishment. Your post made me so sad it’s incredible. These girls were molested & then forced to make potatoes for this guy after their parents knew. Shame, shame, shame.
I teach 15 years and they are not children. Regardless of the generation, you stop being a child once you know the difference between right and wrong. I wouldn’t even consider a 10 year a child. An adult? No but child? Hardly.
This guy knew what he was doing and try as they might, the bible is not on their side.
@MYTBEAN
Tell that to my childhood friend, who was molested at age 6 by her 15 year old brother. The same brother who got off easy by his parents while she was blamed. The same brother who now has kids, while she has mental illnesses that have almost killed her multiple times. Or better yet, tell that to the Duggar girls. Id bet they’d appreciate that.
Maybe you’ve never had to see the repercussions of childhood abuse personally. I can accept that. But when I was 15, I knew not to molest my sisters. So did my friends. And those of my loved ones who’ve experienced this never seem to get that same benefit of the doubt that you’re giving an abuser. Maybe you should ponder that for a bit.
I really hope you are just trolling. I have worked with abuse victims for many years. He is a predator. He abused those girls. Sexually predictors are never fully “cured” they can only learn how to not put themselves in situations to abuse. A15 year old is capable of being a sexual predator. The majority of their victims are family members or someone they know. If you saw first hand the effects on the victims you would see things differently. Touching someone and not giving them the power to say yes or know has a lifelong effect on these young girls and boys. It really is a life changer….I can also tell you if he’s says its 5 it’s probably more like 25.
Doing it repeatedly and apologizing every time (to the victim) after he’s done it, and then doing it again and again….read the police report. The details are so disgusting and so predatory…no. At 15 you’re not a child on that level. No matter if you’re isolated or not, you don’t do that. Even in super-extra-conservative environment more! In their super-extra-conservative religion what is worse than breaching sanctuary of another one’s body before marriage? Nothing. So he is a monster and a predator, yes. And in his own religion’s eyes, basically he committed unbelievable sin, by his parents’ logic. But it was okay bc he was their son, and because they had a reputation to uphold.
I’m sadden by your comment your argument is strictly about him and what we shouldn’t condemn him for, have you once considered the children who innocent he has stolen have you one emphatic bone in your body. I could careless how he feels and he should receive any and all condemnation for his transgressions. My only concern is for the children and making sure we find out if there are more kids that we don’t know about. I was 15 once and children sleeping in bed was never a thought of mine to fondle them. Lastly let’s leave religion out of this he was or is a sexual predator, whether it was done to him or he was a witness to it.
these odious religious zealots really and truly believe women are property that belong to men, who don’t have feelings, free will or bodily integrity that deserves to be respected not violated at will by men.
That’s the American Taliban for you.
Exactly.
The two things all three main religions have in common is believe in a masculine version of 1 god and a contempt for women. No matter how much they protest that they don’t, this contempt always pops up in many small and major ways.
in their perverted view of their faith men don’t need to control themselves when it comes to women, women are property and objects. “Vessels for a man’s seed.” Without feelings or minds of their own. This is absolutely sickening.
Isn’t it *interesting* that people are playing the parent and absolving this young, young babe in the woods who’s too much of child to know better but ‘thugs’ around his age and younger are veteran hardened criminals who get the honour of character assassination after being murdered for no reason? Gee, I flipping wonder why? Let’s contact Unsolved Frigging Mysteries. Ugh.
Jo Mama Besser; Exactly.
Have you seen the 19 kids and counting Facebook group? The comments are DISGUSTING. So many people talking about how bad the media is for attacking him. Gross. I seriously don’t want to live on this planet anymore.
That’s a fan page. The people posting on that page will forgive that family anything.
Yes to everything people are saying here! There is no excuse for Josh’s actions, nor the actions of the adults who knew about this and willingly waited to do anything about it. I especially don’t like that both Josh and his parents’ statements say he was a “young teenager,” (i.e. “he was still a child”) as if that’s some kind of excuse. This may have started when Josh was 14, but it went on when he was 15 and most likely 16. A 15 or 16 year old is no longer a “young teenager.” The government clearly doesn’t view 15 and 16 year olds as young, because 15 is the age where it’s legal to get a driving permit, and 16 is when it’s legal to get a driver’s license. If you are “adult” enough to get behind the wheel of a car, then you’re certainly adult enough to know right from wrong when it comes to inappropriate vs appropriate touching.
This whole thing makes me ill, and the Duggars are now dead to me. I was never a fan before this, as I was mostly ambivalent. Now my ambivalence has turned to disgust. Those poor girls! I pray they truly get the help they deserve in dealing with this.
There are always going to be asshats who defend famous people, no matter what the religion, ethnicity, etc.
Except, religions like Christianity (and others that mainly worship 1 male god) have a long history of justifying that women are less than men.
No kidding. Sexual abuse isn’t the provenance of one religious creed, one political party or one lifestyle.
Stop making this tragedy into an opportunity to knock religious and conservative people over the head.
I’ve been reading the comments on the 19 Kids Facebook pages and Duggar fansites, and they are seriously sickening. I get it that the fans’ world just crumbled a little bit and they are clutching at the last straw with all these “everybody commited mistakes”, “he was a child back then”, “let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone” and “Josh already apologized and he was forgiven, so let’s forget what happened” nonsense, but the level of blind adoration and the willingness to sweep child molestation and parental negligence just to keep the image of the Perfect Fundie Family alive is actually frightening.
That is a sick culture. Period.
“sweep child molestation and parental negligence”
-> sweep child molestation and parental negligence under the rug
Of course there is no mention about how his victims feel, women are second class citizens in this family.
Just love how only a few months ago Michelle was rallying against transgendered people, claiming that they were perverts and potential predators! All the while knowing what her son had done, hope these bigots are finally wiped from my tv/mags/newsfeed.
He was (is) the oldest, and a boy. He was being groomed to be the man of his own family, and his sisters were being taught to respect and obey men. I’m sure all the children have been taught to look up to their elders, so this guy, drunk on power (over his siblings) and crazy with hormones, thinks his sisters are… there for his pleasure? Like he’s entitled to fondle his sisters, that’s what women are for, and he’s a man dammit. My point is, while no one explicitly told him to do it, or that it was okay, this was learned behaviour. His effed up parents indirectly instilled this in him.
Red Snapper, you’ve summed it up perfectly, but let’s not leave out that girls are also taught it’s their job not to arouse men. So, obey them, don’t arouse them , do as you’re told, sex is a sin, don’t do it but don’t say no…that’s a lot of bizarrely confusing messages for a young girl to process.
Bettyrose, I agree. It’s the potent distillation of the attitude toward women society wide. Be pretty and attractive, but don’t be too attractive. Appealing to men, but not too appealing. See, it’s your fault both times if your man isn’t attracted to you enough (that’s why they cheat!) and if other men are also attracted to you (whore!). You must always be silent and supportive, but if someone take advantage of you it’s because you let them.
Round of applause for Red Snapper, Wren, and Bettyrose. Thank you guys for so articulately speaking what I am too disgusted to put into words.
“I’m sure all the children have been taught to look up to their elders, so this guy, drunk on power (over his siblings) and crazy with hormones, thinks his sisters are… there for his pleasure?”
You said it best, Red Snapper: drunk on power. Disgusting.
nvm… ugh.
And with JimBob impregnating his wife at will – at his will – the message to the children is that mom is fundamentally some sort of service vehicle, a baby-making machine. That’s what women are for. And that creepy blank look she always has in her eyes.
I know! What about the victims?! This is so disgusting. I cannot help but feel that the warped way they are taught about sexuality was one of the leading factors of this happening. They sure talk a lot about sex for being so anti-sex (unless breeding). Don’t touch, don’t front hug, don’t explore, don’t kiss, don’t think, don’t, don’t, don’t.
The only episode of their show I ever watched was about how the girls are taught not to dress in ways that will “stumble” the boys. (They actually used that word, “stumble” and now its forever burned into my mind). I was intrigued, so I kept watching.
So apparently, their TV and net viewing is heavily filtered, lest they be stumbled by you underdressed Jezebels. And when they go out………I swear this is true! ….when they go out, the girls walk ahead of the boys. Why, you ask? Well to alert them of oncoming Jezebels so that the boys may avert their eyes. They have a code word and everything. The girls have trained in the art of slut shaming and ofcourse given sole responsibility over male sexual responses. And the boys are taught that female bodies are to be sexualised and that if they “stumble” it is the girls fault. Fantastic.
Rocket….please please tell me that you remember the code word
The code word was “Nike” – as in look down to your Nike shoes.
@Rocket This is so gross… “Stumble”? Gross. @Rianic Hmmm… Nike. Clever. O_o
you know your unconscious mind does not process negatives well so when you say i will not do it…your unconscious mind actually understands i will do it.
@Rocket: that is also abusive.
Child protection services should have been on this family’s case long ago.
Preach! I need to know what sort of psychiatric care he and his victims received (his sisters!!!) after these incidents. Oh, right, they didn’t…
And how the hell do I know God forgave him? Have a seat, Duggars!
The code word was Nike, I don’t know how I remember this😖
Well, naturally “those kind” of people (homosexual, transgender, etc) would be horrible pervs and do weird pervvy things. We fear what we don’t understand. However, they know all about young boys and their “urges” and how sometimes they’re driven (by the girls, natch) to ungodly actions. But they understand that so that makes it more or less okay.
Ugh, it’s so hypocritical and awful but people like the Duggars honestly don’t see it.
Pedophiles don’t get “cured” – through “God” or otherwise. He just got better at hiding it. I feel sorry for his kids.
A 14 year old isnt a paedophile for abusing underage people. We dont know the ages of the victims but to have breasts, they’d be at least pubescent, right? Unless their ages were released elsewhere and I didn’t read that? Or maybe the article just says breasts for emphasis that they were female victims?
It’s disgusting nonetheless but him having sexual feelings for kids his age or a bit younger doesn’t mean he will now still be attracted to those same age kids.
Lena Dunham did the same thing and she seemed to recover from the backlash… ick
Yes, but even the most curious and hormone-filled 14-year-old should know not to fondle a sleeping girl.
Nonsense. He was first caught at 14. But he continued to do it until he was sent to the Christian camp or whatever. That in itself is indicative of compulsion.
The fact that these were his younger siblings is also a big red flag because sexually curious boys dont experiment with their sleeping sisters. Thats predatory behaviour right there.
Finally, his victims were most likely under 10 as only one was 12 at the time. A 14 year old boy groping his 10/8/7/4 year old sister is most definitely in the pedo risk category.
uh, did you read the article?
while the victims were sleeping. his sisters.
this is NOT natural curiosity.
The police report lists the parents of four of the victims as Michelle and Jim Bob. At that time there were only four Duggar daughters, ranging from 4 to 12(?) years old. Who’s to say he has actually stopped?
As far as ages other sites are reporting victims as young as 8. This was not a youthful indiscretion between preteens, at least 4 are confirmed to have been his own sisters
On a positive note: If an underage offender gets proper counselling there’s a very low risk of reoffending. Only knowing this family, they probably just prayed on it.
@Sarah, pedophiles usually do start preying on people around the age of 14. Multiple victims and victims outside the family, we know of at least one here, are also signs of a pedophile.
I had a neighbor feel my chest when he was older, and I was 6. He also touched my pubic area with no penetration. I consider that molestation I just don’t usually think about it. If they put chest in the report though you might think closer to the shoulders. They probably put breast just to indicate that it was the nipple area. Either way the girls were sleeping and it was assault.
Yes to all of this. He may have started young, but he kept going. And you keep going for a few reasons. mainly, you either can’t stop or control that need despite consequences. Or you think you can get away with it and see no reason to stop.
He’s been getting away with it. With 1 report of Jim-Bob stepping up, but with no follow-up and a bit too late.
Their family environment breeds this sadly. Not directly, but closed off, men superior to women, restrictive feelings for natural hormones and no outlet.
I’ve never been a fan of this family, but take them off the air!
@Lilac Pedophilia means being attracted to pre-pubescent people. 14 years old is likely not pre-pubescent, so people who molest young teens, while disgusting, are not necessarily pedophiles.
However, it sounds like Josh Duggar’s victims were pre-pubescent, sooo…
No.
Jay & Sarah – the predator was 14. His victims were younger. The predator’s age does not determine whether it’s pedophilia. Why are we debating semantics, anyway? Is there a scenario in which his molesting his younger sisters repeatedly while they slept is not horrifying?
The one asking for reports to be destroyed is still a minor, and the only one that could be is JoyAnna That would make her around five at the time it happened.
” 14 year old isnt a paedophile for abusing underage people”
um, what? Then what word would you use then? He did it multiple times. If a 14 year kills someone then are we not allowed to use the word murder then? Please.
Maybe not a paedophile but sick. My step brother, before his dad married my mom was not allowed to be around his own sister because he had done something to her when he was 13… I think she was 8 or 9. He was allowed to be around my sister alone when he was 15 and she was 11, and his friend held her down while he raped her. My sis will be 25 now and seems to have moved on after years of issues, while he is in and out of jail, some charges related to sexual abuse, though I don’t talk to anyone involved, including my mom, so I don’t know, as she knew and did nothing, his dad found out and chastised my sister!
So, my point is, some of this can be attributed to youth and not fully understanding as sex is taboo in this house and they haven’t been taught healthy outlets for adolescent feelings, a slip I can be more forgiving of, especially since it supposedly started when he was 12, but for years
…… that is a pattern. My heart hurts for those girls. This hits way too close to home for me.
I’m not going to brand him a pedophile, nor do I think it appropriate to do so. Has he continued this behavior? We don’t know that. I think the family is horrific and karma is a bitch (as they are finding out), but I’m not going to call Josh Dugger a pedophile. He was 14. And the victims were 12ish from what I’ve read. It was still wrong – especially the incestuous aspect of it. But not pedophilia.
The victims were as young as 8. Care to reconsider your opinion?
A 12 year old is a child. A 12 year old in a religious cult with minimal access to the outside world is emotionally closer to 8 or 9, even if she’s physically entered puberty. Stop minimizing his actions and consider the psychological impact on the victim.
@ Pinky – The victims were as young as 4.
+ 1000000 Pinky
@ Sarah when one of the victims were as young as 4 and they were all younger then him and a sleep when he attack them. So what the hell would you call him? My god you sound like one of those people saying boys will be boys.
Thank you. You hit it dead on. Very well written. As for casting the first stone, I’m pretty sure it was intended to mean people with “no sins” not just people who have not committed that one particular sin.
He just hasn’t been caught so that’s why you haven’t heard anything. Or in their warped patriarchal society, the victims were silenced. Stop apologizing for this big forehead/chinless pervert!
Hardy-
No sins: Hmm. I haven’t killed, raped, ruined or molested anyone. So I can cast all the stones I want!
One of his victims was as young as five (5). He knew exactly what he was doing.
Just to be technical, paedophiles have a primary or exclusive attraction to children. Child abusers aren’t necessarily paedophiles (their target may have just been chosen for convenience), and paedophiles aren’t necessarily abusers (a sexual attraction to children may exist without being acted upon).
I know it’s common practice to use the two interchangeably, but it’s really not helpful. When society conflates the two, it pretty much removes any chance of a paedophile getting treatment before offending.
Child Abuse- hitting the kid and telling them to cover their bruises & not to tell anyone
Pedophilia- abusing the kid through sexual means and telling them not to tell anyone
That is how I read your break down of the words. Either way, it’s abuse in my book.
No, that’s not what I meant at all. Substitute “molestation” for “abuse” if that helps.
Paedophilia is an unchangeable/innate, attraction to children. It’s a mental illness, but not a crime because an attraction does not have to be acted upon. Child molestation is most definitely a crime. But the majority of child molestors aren’t actually paedophiles – they’re just picking victims who are around and easy to dominate. Non-paedophilic abusers are a bit like prison-rapists who aren’t gay, just picking available targets.
This creep is a child molester. He’s probably also a paedophile, but there’s not enough info.
The difference is important because when you say things like “paedophiles are child abusers”, it makes it pretty much impossible for someone to seek treatment. It’s like saying “schizophrenics are dangerous murderers”. It makes people with a mental illness too scared/shamed to get help, so they try to cope alone and things usually end badly. Do you see what I’m saying?
creepy and delusional.
Right? And considering the cop that Jim-Bob took him to was ALSO a pedophile– well one has to wonder what Jim-Bob brought him there for? Was he turning him in? Or sending him to learn how to hide his crimes better next time?
I like how he goes through great lengths to assure us “he’s fine” and a better person in a good place.
How about your victims Josh?
Also he worked for the bigots at the Family Research Council? Because of course.
Time to ditch the Duggars TLC.
It will be interesting to see how TLC handles it. I think they are waiting to get a read on the public’s reaction before axing the show.
This is exactly what I’m wondering. TLC dropped the Honey Boo Boo sh-t show like a hot potato. Let’s make sure this gets the same reaction. And can they STOP with the damn reality shows already??
Does anybody really believe that TLC hasnt known about this for awhile? Its been known around media circles since around 2006. Various message boards most notable Freejinger have talked about this for years in detail. Do people really think that the people who tipped Oprah havent tried to tip TLC? They knew but it doesnt matter until it affects the bottom line.
Do they really think there’s any chance public opinion will be supportive? This family is a pox on the face of the Earth and needs to go away.
I wish that since the case was mishandled by a child pornographer they could go back and prosecute. Anyone who molests pre-pubescent children should be permanently barred from any contact with children. I fear for his kids.
They ran a marathon of their show last night-I’m pretty sure that says where TLC’s head is concerning this show.
HBB was easy to axe because they were a bunch of hillbillies. America loves them some sparkly white church goers, no matter how disgustingly hypocritical and criminal.
Unfortunately, you are so right.
TLC also posted that BS statement from People Mag. And everyone has been blasting them for it. But hey like you said the country loves to look away when the criminal is white and christian
I was wondering when something like this would come out on them. It just seemed so……. odd, their whole dynamic. It will be interesting to see what TLC does now. I hope they cut the show but who knows.
I hope CPS is all over this vile sh*t stain of a human. I was also hoping TLC cancels their show but they were running a 19 Kids marathon last night.
I hate humans.
TLC has quite the legacy, huh? New name: The Lechery Channel.
Perfect new name.
Because really, the things we are “Learning” about related to this channel are horrible.
And how on earth did they run a marathon of this show last night? W.T.F??
TLC is the fu*king worst.
I am so happy that I’ve never watched a single show on that channel. They should be shut down for good.
I never have either, Kitten.
The Lascivious Channel as well. I too haven’t watched a thing on TLC since it became TLC and explicitly lost the “Learning” part (guess that was around the time NASA gave up on it). Enough with Reality TV families entirely. There needs to be a real vetting process for the characters of our content, not to mention the content of our characters.
Have never watched TLC and forgot it even exists. Maybe my cable doesn’t have it? Don’t care.
Can they do anything at all when he never even set foot into a courtroom? His wife needs to stop letting him impregnate her ffs. And can the police actually just decide to destroy the report? I have no idea about record keeping laws in the U.S. but here (Germany, we love our bureaucracy) there are strict laws.
I could barf all over that statement of his. First of all, it shows that he never went to school. Secondly, “wrongdoing”? Try crimes, asshole. “Those affected by my actions”? Your sisters. Your victims. There, fixed it. What a massive turd. I cannot imagine growing up as a girl in that family. Until now it just looked miserable but now it seems downright dangerous and horrifying. TLC needs to shut that sh*t down asap.
Growing up as a girl in these ultra-fundamentalist communities *is* dangerous and horrifying. Fortunately, I didn’t experience it myself, but I have known people who were raised in environments with similar male supremacy, deep-rooted misogyny, and extremely repressive, shame-driven attitudes towards sex. BAD sh*t goes on.
The victims can sue for money in civil court but I bet they practiced witness intimidation so no civil case.
I would think those records cannot be destroyed without a judge signing off on it but I can be wrong.
It’s official TLC is the worst. I’m not surprised they’re running a marathon. Now that this story has exploded they’re banking on the ratings from the curious and Duggar supporters.
Also sick to my stomach that there’s no mention of how the victims (his own sisters) must feel or if they’ve received counseling other than they’ve forgiven him because of course they have.
I’m with you, Abbott.
Another thought struck me — this site did a story about how an older sister Jana who is at home is basically a slave run by her bizarre parents.
Now I am wondering, is she kept unmarried because of what this pie-faced perv brother may have done to her that Daddy Duggar wants to keep hushed up. Is what actually happened to her even worse, meaning the charges against their precious pedophile son would be even more serious? They’re clearly capable of cover-ups and lies. Those poor girls, voiceless victims of a perverted cult. Where the hell is the CPS.
Gosh, he molested his sisters as well? This makes me sick to my stomach. Very disturbing that he has little kids and his wife knew about it and actually married him.. And had kids with him, I would always worry.
This. AND he never received counseling so there is no reason to believe he has changed at all.
Seriously, the sequence of events/actions taken (or not) provides zero reassurance that he’s changed at all.
It’s so wrong when people go to their church elders for extreme matters that require the law and expect for all to be resolved through that and prayer. You should use both!
And yea, no follow-up care? High chancce he’s still doing this.
No wonder the family covered up — Family Services would’ve been all over their house.
Not that his wife deserves any defense since she knew about his past, but Josh and his parents lied to her about him receiving counseling. I’m assuming she was raised in the same manner as the Duggars so she was sheltered and taught the man is the leader. I’m sure she wasn’t taught critical thinking skills and to be objective. In a way, she is also a victim.
The wife comes from exactly the same type of family (except with less TLC money) and was basically told at 18 or 19 that she was marrying Josh. It’s not like she was a mature adult making her own decision.
I’m guessing she’s in deep, deep denial and would probably defend him to the death in the face of any and all evidence. Kind of like Cosby’s wife.
“he has little kids and his wife knew about it and actually married him..”
I love how the article points out that he came clean to his wife before they married. It implies that she was ok with this. But it has been made more than clear that these young women do not have ANY choice in who or what or when they get married….soooo His poor wife, she may have been horrified–and yet still had to marry him and have his children. Horror.
Molesters often start preying on children within their own family, neighbourhood children, kids being babysat, etc, due to convenient accessibility and because young children can be compelled, threatened, bribed, to not tell.
I hate the fact that Duggar has 3 + 1 young children in his home.
How much more convenient does it get?? He has every opportunity in the world to groom them.
So this righteous guy talks about saving intimacy until marriage. Guess he had enough intimacy with his sisters to tide him over.
Delaying intimacy until marriage only applies to your girlfriend/future wife. It’s ok to have intimacy with children b/c they’re pure and unsullied by sex. I can’t remember the last time I felt so angry toward a single person I’ve never met. I hope he gets everything he deserves.
So Josh got a “stern talking to” from a cop who is now in prison for child p0rn? Did those five girls receive any counselling ?
They were probably told it was there fault for having female parts.
And then probably forced to pray for the sins of their molester
This!!!
I can just imagine the pep talk he got from that guy.
A “stern talking to” that probably included grooming and lessons on how not to get caught. This is all levels of f*cked.
This story is so disgusting on so many levels–not only the molestation, but the cover up and hiding behind Jesus, the complete abdication of parenting by the Duggars. Ugh. I have been fuming about this story since it broke.
JimBob was so obsessed about side hugs–he should have been a real father to his daughters.
+10000000000
They’re too busy fornicating like crazed bunnies to actually raise their brood.
That does seem to be a problem.
As far as sins are concerned, child molestation is right on top for any Christian and all human beings with a conscience and decency. God forgives but for something as serious as hurting five children, this man needs to be brought to justice and answers for his actions. I’m not talking about fancy press releases to satisfy the media’s appetite and quench their thirst or because his bosses at TLC tell him to, I’m talking about counseling, legal intervention and prosecution, and an apology to those children.
His Christian parents ran out the clock for prosecution. He is now protected from prosecution thanks to the statute of limitations.
The only reason a police investigation was even opened i because Oprah sent the cops an anonymous tip she had received when they were booked on her show. She also cancelled their appearance at the last minute. HAIL OPRAH!!!. Dont tell me that all the other shows that interviewed them werent also tipped off or that TLC has not in ten years of the show heard about this?!!
Oprah did report it to the cops that she had received a tip Josh had molested 5 underage girls.
@Luceee – Thanks for explaining the Oprah involvement because I had read Harpo productions had reported it but I couldn’t find the circumstances.
And if this is the case I agree that someone at TLC must have known about this too and they still put this piece of s*it on the air.
I am so fu*king angry at those parents with their full of crap dogma, so incredibly sad for the victims because what they went through is terrible and yet their parents protected a criminal and still focusing on him vs them.
He says in his statement if he continued on that path he knew his life would be ruined. No mention of the 5 lives of those young girls he ruined. I’m so angry.
@tammy thats what I said, did you not read the comment? Thank goodness for Oprah!
I applaud Oprah for this. Or, lets be honest, her team – there’s no way she’s personally reading all her mail.
I’m actually surprised that they took it so seriously. She must get a pile of emails from nutbags. I’d have thought an anonymous email would’ve been written off as just another nutter. They’re not mandated reporters. And if you stop and think about it, we’re talking about a tipster who’d tell Oprah, but not the cops. Not exactly the normal reaction. I can easily imagine being a staffer, dismissing the email, and then feeling terrible years later when it turned out to be legit. They really do deserve a lot of credit for passing it on to the cops.
@Lucrezia I agree with you that Oprah must get lots of mail from nutbags and could have written it off. However, the reason I think she would never pass over sex abuse claims is because she herself was raped as a child by a 19 year old cousin and molested by others as well and has always spoken out for children victimized. So Oprah and her staff meant business with this.
I hope TLC cancels there show.
Oprah was abused by her family members as a child. Thank you for bringing this to light Oprah and trying to protect others.
Oprah is a hero for what she did.
The Duggar parents and Josh are truly reprehensible. I can’t believe I used to watch their show and actually admired them at one point.
I can’t believe I’m so mad over some people that I’ve never met. I also can’t believe some people on this site are actually defending him because he’s from a “Christian” (and white) family.
Those poor victims. It goes without saying this show needs to go away and TLC deserves major shame for their role in continually supporting this family instead of helping the victims.
I’m sure that when Oprah tipped off the Arkansas police, she also notified TLC. Yet they persisted in foisting off this snake-pit of a family on the public.
1. I hate the fact that we now know who 4 of his victims were – his sisters. I wish there was a way for this to have come out without implicating them.
2. This is what happens when kids are raised with no sex education whatsoever, a medieval attitude towards sexuality and gender imposed by ignorant parents, and no understanding of personal boundaries or right and wrong.
3. Of COURSE this guy was involved with the ‘Family Research Council’ which lobbies against normal, consenting adults (gay people) and preaches “traditional family values”. Naturally.
I feel physically sick.
Agree Kath. The complete lack of education, the isolated environment, and the belief that adolescents can just pray away puberty/sexual attraction is so awful.
Aside from this extreme/sick behavior from Josh, imagine the guilt all those kids feel just for having natural and normal feelings, with no access to any other info other than what they get from their parents.
Great article in the Daily Beast (from last year) about sex abuse in this type of patriarchal extreme Christianity. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/16/sex-scandal-rocks-the-duggars-christian-patriarchy-movement.html?via=twitter_page
@anname I was going to post that same article. That’s one of the preacher’s that the Duggars support and follow. And he was sexually abusing young girls for years. When you are listening to the preachings of a man like that, what does one expect that their son will learn? Add in that you teach him that women are second class citizens and have no rights of their own outside being a wife-and it is a recipe for disaster.
Thank you for the link to that article.
The end of the article makes an excellent point. The movement tells women that in exchange for total submission they will be respected and revered. But when in Western civilization have we respected or revered weakness? We don’t root for the losers, respect the ones who surrender, or put on a pedestal the ones who are subservient. Yet this cult is somehow trying to pretend that’s exactly what they do. So messed up.
It’s convenient for the abuser to convince the victim to submit. The convincing is done by force and/or persuasion. Religion just adds a gloss to the process to tax- or law- exempt.
Completely agreed. A couple of people have said something like “well, given the dates it could only be sister X, Y or Z”. I guess everyone who watched the show would be able to figure that out, but I don’t watch it. Now I know their names and it makes me feel icky, like I’ve encroached on their right to anonymity.
I know my reaction isn’t entirely logical. I’m never likely to meet them in real life. Even if I did happen to fall over one, I still wouldn’t recognise her. And I’m one single person who didn’t know them, verses millions who watch the show. But it’s the principle of the thing.
Thank you for saying this.
Let’s see…sexually warped upbringing +sexual repression= molesting perv
Sounds abiut right in Bubbaville. These whack jobs need to be off the air stat and their whole hate platform taken off the air.
And why is this perv not labeled a sexual predator??
Eff this damn family!!!!
Agree 100%.
These people!!! Josh was a SERIAL MOLESTER not just the “curious teen” they are selling him out to be.
The first time he was caught was because the victim (probably a sister) reported him to his father. Daddy did nothing ofcourse. A year later, Josh confesses to having molested the others. Only then was he removed from the house and even that was on,y for a short while.
Why would a “curious teen” be sticking his fingers in his 4 year old sisters vagina anyway? (Sorry for the mental image that creates, I just think the pussy footing when describing the acts of these sickos actually allows people to underplay the extent of the violation involved here)
I read at the time that this happened the Duggars girls were aged between 4 and 12, I don’t watch the show does anyone know if that sounds right?
Thoughts are with the girls that were failed by so many adults that should have protected them and instead protected their abuser.
I doubt the girls received proper counseling and support. After all, they had siblings and chores to manage all day long.
Jana would be the 12 yr old and Joy Anna would be the 4 yr old. The other 3 possibilities for the other 2 would be Jessa, Jill and Jinger
All the goodwill I was surprised to have for the dad yesterday is gone. This story is sickening.
Sat on Josh’s crimes for a year and then took him to a cop who was also a criminal. I do not believe for one second that Jim Bob did not know about Hutchins. The upside is the tide has come and flood gates have opened. No amount of babies from this family and interviews with PEOPLE is going to fix it now. Good!!!
Jess Cagle and People better stop profiling these weirdos. It’s no wonder circulation is down. They keep glorifying oppressive nutjobs.
Sarah Palin, I’d keep this chinless pervert away from your girls, if I were you.
Thank God we know what they are now but based on the comments on the show’s Facebook page, a lot of people still defend them, it’s sick. I feel like it’ could almost be a diagnostic test for a person’s sanity/morality – what do you think of the Duggars now?
If this was dealt with so lightly, what other skeletons do they have?
The most disturbing part is that he molested his sisters and his parents didn’t act, in my opinion, hastily enough. I feel sorry for the Duggar girls, all of them.
The parents didnt act AT ALL. When they first heard they did nothing. They waited a full year for him to rack up more victims and report himself. Then they sent him to a friends farm for afew months for “counselloing”. They told their Church elders who sat on it for three months, because who goes to the police, right? Then they took him to a State Trouper friend for some scared straight crap, except THAT state trooper is himself serving time for possession of child pornography.
The only reason this even got a police file was because Oprahs producer forwarded a tip off she received about the matter to the cops. By that point statute of limitations was in play.
I didn’t read closely enough! That is so much worse. So this whole mea culpa is simply because they’ve now been exposed?
Exactly, Luceee. I posted this on the other thread: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3091071/PICTURED-State-trooper-let-Josh-Duggar-wake-alleged-child-molestation-charges-later-went-prison-child-pornography-charges.html
I am appalled at this situation on so many levels. Mostly that the parents and authorities did NOTHING to get him treatment or punishment, to get counseling for the victims, or pursue it in any sort of legal way. If a year later his father turned him in, obviously it kept happening and their “renovate a building with some guy” treatment failed.
I feel terrible for the victims, I’m sure they were silenced and forced to “forgive” him. I feel sorry for the girls in the family, forced to grow up with someone who could or did molest them. And i’m sorry for his wife, who probably wasn’t allowed to say no to the marriage even if he did tell her all of that ahead of time. Keep a close eye on your kids, lady.
I can’t even get into the hypocrisy of them campaigning against gay/transgender people when this was going on under their own roof with their own children.
Like I said above, his dad DIDNT turn him in. He sent him to a family friend State Trooper for a “talking to”. There was no investigation or even talk of prosecution. The investigation came much later following a tip off sent to Oprahs show. Oh and that State Trooper is currently serving time for possession of child pornography
The Oprah show folks had the guts to call this out, which ups my impression of her. This story is awful, and the lack of addressing the females (other than oh, they forgave) just adds to it.
WHAT? So he wasn’t sent to him for a talking to but for advice on how to be less conspicuous I assume? What a disgusting world. Sometimes I think it wouldn’t be all that tragic if the human race just wiped itself out at some point.
@LITTLEMISSNAUGHTY
O it gets better th cop in question is now serving 60 years for child pornography. The friend this family keeps.
His sicko parents were probably just relieved that he had sexual urges towards females. Imagine if he had just come out as a gay non-molester instead!!! The horror!!!!!
Considering how lightly child pornography is dealt with in North America, I wonder at the kevel of depravity that would have sent this state trooper away for 60 years!
Seriously, my personal opinion is that a person who murders another in an non-premeditated rage is LESS despicable than a repeat child rapist, or those pedophiles who travel to 3rd world countries to engage in sex-tourism with desperately poor kids with no hope of a future beyond surviving another night.
+1000
These people are such hypocrites and liars. So you’re fine now, Josh? Oh, good, I was so concerned that you might actually not be fine now. I wasn’t worried about your victims, past and future, just you and your slimey, ignorant parents. So glad you can mutter a few words about God and be fine. When you should be in jail, you pervert.
And I’m sure he’ll he handed another high-paying job by some other hate group. As long as he can spout his hatred, he’ll have a job. Can you imagine being paid just to hate someone? I think there is a special place in hell for people like him.
Westboro Baptists?
Yes, they are all truly disgusting. Their hypocrisy is about enough to make my head explode.
Does anyone know if CPS can remove his kids from their home? Even though he wasn’t convicted he has openly admitted to molesting 5 children.
He made an admission, even though it has no legal impact, surely they can investigate, based on his own statements of proclivity in his past.
I hope CPS (or someone outside that family) checks on those kids because I seriously question the judgment of his wife. Who the hell marries a person that confesses to molesting young girls? And better yet, who allows their daughter to marry a man that confesses that? Clearly, no one in this small community of people give a damn about safeguarding children.
CPS apparently couldn’t do anything when Oprah tipped off the abuse hotline. Their hands are tied.
And who marries molesters knowingly? Plenty of women unfortunately. Heard it before volunteering at nonprofits. You’ll be amazed the rationalizing people will do when they are married to people who later hurt their kids. Heck watch an episode of intervention! Half the addicts on that show had parents who condoned abuse or blamed their kids for “dressing provocatively” or “coming onto their bf/spouse” when they were 12-15 yrs old. Amazed and sad.
I hope for his children’s sake that they can!
I don’t CPS can investigate for past abuse claims.
Good question. I just heard a story on the radio yesterday about parents who had their kids taken away because they let them walk to school alone! If that warrants investigation and/or removal, this sure as heck better.
When Mama June started dating her daughter’s molester, TLC pulled the show immediately. How is it that this already-creepy-in-so-many-ways-and-just-got-a-whole-lot-creepier family is still on the air?
I wonder which one of his sisters/victims they will pressure into making a statement about how its all okay now and God forgives. That’s what’s coming next.
I wonder if he was actually caught in the act with a sister? I just wonder that with the awful ‘education’ they’d have received if the girls would have understood it was wrong?
Fingers. In. Their. Vaginas.
Trust me, a child knows her brother’s fingers aren’t supposed to be in there. That’s why these girls reported him.
Did the status of limitation expired or will he face jail time?
Why did the parents went on TV with their family? Didn’t they know, that this fact could surface one day? They couldn’t have hidden it forever?
Statute of limitations has expired. However, if he is caught again, the fact that he has admitted priors will factor against him both in criminal sentencing and civil commitment for being a sexually dangerous person. A civil commitment as a SDP can last much, much longer than a criminal conviction.
I do hope that this case sheds light on the problems of having a statute of limitations on sex offences against minors, so many children can’t even process or truly understand what happened to them until much later in life so by the time they are ready to talk about it, it’s too late for any justice….or as in this case, the adults they have access to tell about the abuse don’t do a damn thing about it.
This vile, VILE family. I feel ill. TLC had BETTER take this show off the air right now. They rightfully cancelled that Boo Boo show after one picture so they have GOT to cancel this sick, perverted family now. Right? RIGHT??! Those poor girls.
I cannot believe how low TLC continues to sink. I doubt they’ll cancel this show though. HBB didn’t have the big conservative christian backing that this show has and of course that means $$$ for TLC.
Absolutely. The show has to be cancelled.
I told a friend last night this story had come out and her first response was she didn’t believe it, people were trying to bring them down. What !! And she is a smart, professional woman. I’m baffled by the amount of comments on social media I’ve seen defending him. He molested his sisters!! And it can’t be as easy to forgive that as this family is implying.
I know right?! People refused to believe it and others would link to the police report and they’d say they wouldn’t bother reading it because it was obviously lies. Then when more details emerged and it was undeniable, they just brushed off the incest and sexual abuse and kept going on with the sickening “He who is without sin…”. Really??? What will it take for people to see this for what it is???
I had a friend say the exact same thing on facebook. And I was like “no he admitted to it”. Like really? and she has three kids under 5. I was appalled
If it wasn’t this family: Good Christian family with wholesome values and white from middle america they wouldn’t have half the supporters trying to explain it away. The double standards are amazing.
Yet gay people are the ones to be worried about. Ok then
This is my very bias thoughts.
This is all just awful. I hate knowing the girls were never allowed to speak to a legit outside counselor. And you just know they are completely in the dark, about the stranger danger talk.
But when you have a set of parents, whom are obsessive about their religion. And keep all the kids hid away from contact, with other children of their own age. The children are not able to mature normally. And gawd only knows how friggin hormonal active teenagers can be… It does not keep your children pure of sexual thoughts. Nor does it stop them from experimenting when you keep them locked up.
Not being able to attend a school outside your home. Not having contact with other children whom you are not related to… at least a few times a week. Just to hang out and talk to. Do a little shopping. Without a set of parents lurking over you. Does not give any child the opportunity to grow a little maturity.
Then you add in the parents who are nutcases. Who are determined to push the “no touching under any circumstance, till marriage” bullsh*t. Because that is what the Lord wants.
Well it doesn’t work.
Now the whole friggin world knows that your girls, have been touched by their brother. And all the tabloids are going to attempt to get to the sisters, to get that verified. Because they can’t really sell those magazines without all the gory details.
Next time the family is in NY… on some morning talk show… and do the pap walk before entering the building. Guess what the pap’s will be screaming at your girls. “Hey tell us! Did Josh diddle you too?” We all know that is coming.
Now with that being said.
I do not believe for one moment, that ole Jim Bob sat any of those boys down and had a legit sex talk with them. Or what a little quality time in the shower can solve.
Except to tell them that it was a SIN. And how they would all go to hell if they had any kind of thoughts about sex. That the Lord said no touchy till your married.
I have so much sorrow for those girls in that house. They are trapped there, until ole Jim Bob finds them a husband. Because he is not about to let any of them chose their own husband.
Totally agree with you.
Raising children to become either perp or victim. The actual molestation is bad enough to cope with, but the whole mechanisms of shame/guilt/blame esp. during your whole life as a child is even more damaging.
And where can they escape to? Heal? Within the same family that had to have known about this for a long while… disgusting.
In the end, they will blame his demons or satan or like the above, that he lost god for a while, but is now so glad that he found back to him. Well “Congratulation”!
Is this why the oldest girl hasn’t been married off yet? Was she “ruined” by Josh?
I wonder this too.
I also wonder if they doubled down on the strict boy-girl interactions and the female dress code to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Kinda like a chicken-egg situation. Did they get more fundie after this happened as a reaction to the situation?
Oh man. That is such a horrifically depressing thought.
as someone who had been raised in the same religion, it comes as no shock. Some of the most disgusting people I’ve ever met were at church.
Sex offenders – and other assorted morally corrupt types – have always tended to be drawn to organized religion, for both predatory and self-validation purposes. They basically hide behind the Scripture and prey on the flock. Sadly it’s nothing new.
But then again I would also add that I’ve met some really good, decent people at church, too. It is what it is
My husband was raised in a church like that and some of the stories haunt me. Rape and molestation run rampent in that type of setting. Much of his family still is deeply involved in the church, and even though he loves and trusts his own family, he won’t leave our girls alone with them ever, not even his own mother because he fears who might come over while we’re not there.
Being a church going christian isn’t wrong, but something about that particular brand of it tends to twist people. Even my own husband was shocked how wrong his life was when he joined the military. It actually took leaving that belief system to make him a good man. He never sexually abused anyone, but he admits that hate for everyone not in the church was sometimes literally beaten into him.
I honestly think that there’s a lot of that BECAUSE they are so repressed. They can’t even be themselves. When my dad was DEEP into the church like that, we weren’t allowed to show anger. It was all right if he yelled at us, lectured us i.e. stuff a parent does, but if we didn’t want to give him a hug, or be around people after getting in trouble, then there was a HUGE issue.
But back when my little sister was 9/10, this kid that came from a family like that (11 kids, lived in a trailer, father was a preacher, VERY strict, etc)…..he was 13, and he asked my little sister if he could see and touch her privates. Which he didn’t force her, he just asked her, but you get the implication? And this same family (I’m acquainted with the second oldest daughter who’s in her late twenties now) wouldn’t allow their twenty something daughter (I think she was 22) and her twenty something boyfriend to go on DATES. When they were courting, everything had to be a group activity. They had to speak to each other on speaker phone (lived in different states). How do you get into a relationship, and know its real when you have people breathing down your neck all the time?
When men are told they are superior & all women are should be subservient to them, there will always be sexual victimization, especially involving young girls. They believe they’re acting as god & everyones else serves them. Its truly disgusting & the culture promotes aggressive rule & the men answer to no one, not even god. Its about power, control, & not turning their wives into “harlots”. They use these girls for their sexual deviancy, so they can go home to a ‘clean’ wife.
Just jumping in here to say that this type of behavior is sadly not *limited* to people raised in this type of church. Religion aside, if you come from a family with a strong patriarchal culture, that implicitly or explicitly informs the boys that they are better than girls, superior to girls, that they are the bosses of the families, this kind of intrafamily abuse or sexual deviancy can happen. I’ve known two perpetrators in my life like this who were not raised in the Duggars’ church or anything like it. They were the product of their upbringing nonetheless.
I just can’t with this bunch os slimy hypocrites. Also, how can a judge sign an order to destroy the police reports? Aren’t they official public records? Just because the statute of limitations prevents prosecution, doesn’t mean the documents can or should be destroyed, or am I missing something?
To protect the identity of the victims, which I get, but I’m betting one of the sisters was told to file the request to protect Josh b
They can seal the documents to protect the identity, but I still don’t see how they can be destroyed. Oh, well, not that it matters now that the press has got hold of a copy through FOIA.
You technically cannot destroy court documents. Those documents are sealed. However, the police report is totally different. Not sure what their record keeping rules are.
I hope TLC does the right thing and tells the family, NO MORE. This family didn’t act shamefully. They have demonstrated criminal behavior on the parts of several people, but namely Josh, Jim Bob, Michelle, various members of their cult, and the dirty cop. But shame on you, TLC, if you continue to poor money into this trash heap. And besides just firing the Duggars, I hope the show ensures that the young women are receiving proper cancelling- not Duggar approved made-up godly quackery.
Totally agree with you 100%. How can these girls look up to or respect their parents (or folks in their own church) when they let something this terrible happen to them and nothing was done? I wonder why it took so long for this to get out and how hard the Duggar’s tried to keep it hidden. I really hope TLC grows a conscious and cancels this show.
This story has been floating around on the anti-Duggar sites for years, but one never really knows with those types of places. So sad for those young girls. Sadder, still, that they probably never got proper help & counseling after such a traumatic event. These people are literally the worst.
How has TLC not cancelled this show yet? Does anyone remember how quickly they pulled the plug on Honey Boo Boo?
*I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining MY life.*
I think that one sentence says everything that needs to be said about the degree of concern he, and indeed anyone in their cult, have for the actual victims. I have no doubt that the girls were made to feel that they had done something to entice him and that it wasn’t really his fault. It is literally stomach churning to see that if you’re the son of a white, conservative, religious family that you can actually not only not face charges when you confess to molesting multiple young girls, you will actually have millions of people making excuses for you. It really frightens me to see how little the lives and well being of women mean in the arena of groups like this that have such a loud voice in this country.
That family is beyond disgusting and I am horrified that TLC decided to run a marathon of their show the same day these allegations broke wide. I will never watch that channel again.
And lastly, I am by no means a religious person, but it really, really offends me on behalf of the loving Christians and other religious people I do know that these hypocrites use God as a Get Out of Jail Free card.
And what hurts the most is that he doesn’t even bother to address the feelings of the people he hurt.
I had a friend who was molested by her brother. Her parents knew and saw it, and did nothing. Now she has lasting scars and mental illness to deal with as a result, and her brother is almost EXACTLY like this guy. Very “me me me”. Won’t admit what he did to a child.
Imagine what those women have to weed through every day. It’s terrifying, because they may never get the help and solace they need.
And this dude will always get sympathy from somewhere. Eff this guy.
“And lastly, I am by no means a religious person, but it really, really offends me on behalf of the loving Christians and other religious people I do know that these hypocrites use God as a Get Out of Jail Free card. ”
This bothers me too.
You’ve got it, Grabbyhands. This is EXACTLY how sociopaths talk. Me, me, me, me, me. And passive language to avoid taking responsibility for their actions: “I confessed ‘my wrongdoing’…”my parents arranged for me and ‘those affected by my actions’ “……
Watch out for this kind of language from abusers. It’s textbook sociopath talk. I have been angry all day on a different level, about people being careless about the things that are important in this life. This is NOT helping. Children and their safety matters in this life. Young women being in control of their bodies MATTERS in this life.
This man was and may be is, a predator and I will sign any petition I have to, to get this mess off the air for good. And who knows where HE learned it…..
I suggest that we all contact TLC and demand that their show is cancelled.
If I don’t see a petition up soon, I’m going to start it myself.
There’s a petition but my link won’t go through. Clicky on my name.
Thanks, Bot. Just signed it.
Abbott, thanks for the link. Signed!
Abbott, thank you. I just signed the petition. I urge all of you amazing people to do the same. This is one way we can all stand up for justice.
Thanks for the link. Signed
How about the FCC pulls the plug on TLC? Sick of this sh*t.
Just signed the petition. Wish I could do more.
Petition to cancel the Duggars.
https://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/tell-tlc
Duggars and their philosophy is, do as I say and not as I do They are hypocrites. I was waiting for some skeletons to come out of the closet. Actually, I can’t watch the show it turns my stomach when I watch.
Josh, I am ashamed of you.
I was 6 years old when a family member raped me. It took me nearly 40 very difficult years to accept the truth and move on.
Something sacred is destroyed when a child is violated this way. I was lucky; I did manage to move on from it. Some people never do.
Pedophiles are not misguided people going through a phase or influenced by media or over sexed by puberty or whatever. They are on-level, if not worse, than your typical serial killer and should be treated the same way.
His daughters and any girls around him are at risk, period, and he should be kept away from them, period. I could care less about his soul: he’s done for at this point and nothing can save him
Jen, there are no words to convey what I feel for you for having gone through that hell. May you continue to be strong and continue moving on.
You have, more than anyone else here, described exactly what a pedophile is. It is not a matter of being sexually repressed or a parent not explaining sex ed properly or not allowing healthy outlets, it is about being a predator. That’s it. A predator. No different than a serial killer.
+1. And @Jen, I’m so sorry to read what you went through. I hope whoever did this to you was punished. Glad you found the inner strength you needed to move on with your life.
Sending you virtual hugs, Jen. I hope you have been able to find some peace and happiness in your life.
My heart aches for you, Jen. xoxo loves of love and light
+ a million, Jen…..I’m so sorry. I don’t think anyone who isn’t a victim of something like that will ever truly understand the shame. A few years ago, my family found out that my great grandmother was raped at 13 and gave birth to a son that she kept secret all her life. In talking with my grandma, trying to figure out who did it (because my great grandma was passed from relative to relative as a slave/servant, pretty much)….my grandma told me that her mom HATED her brother, and wouldn’t do anything with him, around him–and that was the FIRST thing that popped into my head (especially since her son looks just like her). That her brother got away with raping her. And then I thought about the shame that she felt. She was 89 years old when she died, and she never told any of her family members what had happened to her. We didn’t know until after she was dead.
And it destroys lives. My other grandma was routinely raped by her brothers, as a young child, and she’s an alcoholic who refuses to stop drinking AND has just refused heart surgery i.e. she’s going to die in about four years if she doesn’t get it. She wants to die. And she’s spent a lifetime drinking away her pain.
I think I understand Jana a little more. No wonder why she isn’t married, isn’t courting, and stays home. That poor woman.
OK, TLC has made the likes of the Duggars, Duck Dynasty’s and Honey Boo Boo’s families rich and famous. WHY????? Why is it that the basest, and apparently most reprehensible members of society are being glorified by this channel? These programs should be pulled off the air IMMEDIATELY and never be allowed into syndication. Period.
I won’t be the least bit surprised when it comes out that someone on Duck Dynasty is also a child molester.
The funny thing about the Duck Dynasty family is they are obviously a big con job. Have you seen pictures of them a few years before the show, they look like preppy people at a country club. I think they just made up the idea to sell a tv show, and it worked people bought it hook, line and sinker.
This story mirrors what my regional child advocacy center told us about the profile of 80 percent of cases they handle. It is not a stranger — it is often someone known to the victim (church, family friend, coach, relative were specific examples given).
No mention of the victims and how they’re fine now. Josh said he was on his way to ruining his life but he doesn’t mention his victim’s lives. Which shows me he hasn’t really changed. He still only gives a crap about himself.
I feel so badly for his victims who had no choice but to forgive him. Even if they didn’t want to or weren’t ready they had to forgive him.
Of course they were probably told by their father(s) to forgive him, probably they told them that since it was against their wishes and they were still virgins, they were not really harmed. For real.
The fault is in the parents and the upbringing. One more reason why having so many kids that you cannot keep track of is a bad idea.
I imagine Michele and Bob were trying to produce more children for the show when this was happening.
The show wasn’t happening when this was going on. Josh is 27 now, so it was over 12 years ago. No this was their own thinking, before they decided to publicize their crazy life. Makes you wonder how many other repressed families have this issue too.
Belief in God teaches narcissism. Oh sure, that religious guy way over in that other country was horribly killed but God totally is gonna help me ace that exam later this week! Because I’m an extra special snowflake and although God loves everybody, he REALLY loves me. This is why I just cannot understand religious people. They think a magical divine being is listening to their prayers and will save them from anything despite the fact that terrible things clearly happen to other people all the time. Yet all the good in their lives is attributed to God but the bad things aren’t. It’s completely illogical.
Well said.
Goes even more for monotheistic religions.
The ‘mono’ says it all.
Ugh, why do I even have to say this but: some* religious people.
Ugh, sick monster.
I’m waiting to see what if anything happens from TLC or all those politicians he works with to clearly send the message THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
There are not enough words to describe how disgusted I am by this, it’s despicable
I sincerely doubt he told his wife before they got married. Wouldn’t all of their correspondence and interactions been monitored and chaperoned by Jim-Bob and Michelle? How would you bring up a topic like that anyway? “Oh, by the way, since you were handpicked for me and we’re getting married anyway….I may have done some sketchy stuff when I was a teen…….”
LOL yeah no kidding.
I think that TLC really has to make a statement on this today – to let it go over the long weekend would be way too much, and from a PR standpoint, they have to get in front of this. They’d better do the right thing and take these disgusting excuses for human beings off of the air.
Seriously though, if anyone finds or starts a petition to get these reprehensible people removed from our airwaves, please post it.
I kept going to TLC’s viewer relations page last night, and the site kept going down. I was trying to write and urge them to cancel this show. Hopefully many others were doing the same.
What’s TLC going to say? You KNOW they knew about this when they put them on the air, so they are complicit in promoting this false narrative and exploiting them for monetary gain. They drop the show? The Duggars sue the pants off of them. You know it will happen. Just watch….
I was vetted for a reality show. They do a full background check. Not sure if background as a minor is included but I would think it is if the record is not sealed. They would have known but the dollar signs in their eyes crowded out good reason.
They can cancel a show without fear of the stupid Duggars suing them. It’s done in all networks. Actors sign multi-year contracts only to have their shows cancelled in the first year. Duggars cannot sue for breach of contract. I’m sure the fine print covers cancellation.
I think it should be a three strikes and you’re out policy. Duck Dynasty, Honey Boo Boo, and now this awful family. How many passes should TLC get? As Pinky said, there is little doubt that they knew about the allegations.
Shut down TLC for good. They put molesters, bigots, rapists on a pedestal and greatly profited from that. F*ck them and everything they stand for.
I agree – I think TLC should be boycotted altogether.
I haven’t read all the comments here yet, but I feel so bad for his victims. Reading the report, it’s easy to deduce who they are, and that is awful for them to have to relive this. Even more so, i am angry that no one recieced actual counseling. Including Josh. Livid. Their parents’ job is to guide and protect and they failed their children here miserably. Josh of course is at fault–but he should have also received counseling.
I was homeschooled and raised around this family’s community. My family didn’t raise us the same way but I know the mindset. I don’t agree with it – patriarchy has a host of problems.
I don’t know them, but sadly these kinds of things aren’t unheard of. Even beyond what these girls went through, if this is the only experience the public has with homeschooling, it is really unfortunate.
I am disgusted with his wife. She knew, married him AND had children with him.
Pathetic. Deplorable.
She was raised in the same way as the Duggar girls. She has probably never thought for herself in her whole life – her dad told her to marry Josh, so she did. Now she is stuck with him forever. I have pity for her, not scorn. She has never had the chance to learn a different way to live.
I agree with Anname. She has to ‘honour thy father’ under all circumstances and if her father said “Marry Josh” then she is going to obey. What choice does she have? Refuse and be ostracised from the community? She has no education, no job skills, no support structure outside of the cult.
All of these women are trapped. They get to raise their siblings until arrangements are made for them to be brood mares.
He probably downplayed it something much more vague and not as many victims. He probably said they were roughhousing and accidentally touched one or was reading one a book and accidentally brushed against her, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah. But even if she knew closer to the full details, she would go the God route, he barely touched them and got right with God.
Ironically, many born-again “Christians” seem to have very little trouble getting down with the Old Testament… and a great deal of trouble comprehending – much less living by – the New one.
Oh, the hypocrisy. Not only can they not justify their hatred and vileness as a reaction to ‘modern day’ ills and mores; they cannot justify an ounce of it by the very same text and teachings they claim to revere.
My heart aches for these girls, and my stomach churns at the spiritually bankrupt members of this family – as well as at all the institutionalized & ‘religious’ abetting they received, every step along the way.
This is the kind of story that always tempts me to want to say ‘Eff the statute of limitations.’
And poor Jesus H. Christ. Sometimes I just wish He could at least sue for back damages.
Let’s not forget the proven fact that most sexual abusers have been abused in the past themselves.
Think about that for a second.
A 14 year old boy, sneaking around his home in the middle of the night, searching for a young sister to prey upon has most likely learned that behavior from somewhere else. This isn’t a solitary instance of teenage curiosity and likely not the first domino to fall in a series of unfortunate events. I’m looking at you Jim Bob.
Just posted a similar sentiment below — let’s not forget that statistically the perpetrator was likely once a victim himself. The dysfunctional ecosystem in which these folks live enables and facilitates the cycle of abuse.
100% +1
Exactly my thoughts. Learned behavior… in every way.
Yes, severe side eye being thrown at him. And I don’t believe that this only occurred when Josh was 14/15 and then magically stopped. Calling BS on that. A pedophile creep doesn’t just stop. Personally I don’t think they can ever be “cured”. That is their sexual preference and what or whomever someone is turned on by is ingrained in them. That doesn’t just stop. I can’t comment on what I think should be done to someone who molests a child, no matter what the age of the perp. He was old enough to know that touching a child, especially a sister, is wrong and sick. The girls should come forward and throw this entire creep show under the bus once and for all.
I agree that pedophilia is basically like sexual orientation, but I think SELF AWARE individuals who address that this is an unacceptable orientation and work at not abusing children, ever can exist.
Sadly, in a family that blames, literally, the victims, Josh is never not going to offend when he gets the chance. This sick kind of behavior is part and parcel of their sick, sex-obsessed “Christianity.”
I’m Shocked this family was hiding something. I mean, they have The Notorious G. O. D. on their side. How could this happen to such good people?!
But God has forgiven Josh and that’s all that matters, Bengalcat.
These people are garbage, pure garbage.
@ kitten, so true. I believe in Reincarnation, (I know) and if I’m right, I like to think the JimBobs will come back as someone’s Bitch… but I’m a heathen like that, so I’m sure Satan is anxiously awaiting my arrival.
Most (essentially all) sex abuse perpetrators were victimized themselves. So this story is bigger than just what happened within this family — there is a broader community in which these acts are being committed without proper follow-up for perpetrators or victims. Chilling to think of the potential scale of suffering, endured by victims who are taught that shame is normal and to be suspicious of the therapeutic opportunities available in the secular world.
I completely agree. BTW, I really think that you could interpret his Mother’s situation as being in sexual slavery to Jim-Bob.
Just because she sings the glories of being pregnant or nursing every year of her adult life, doesn’t mean that some of us can’t see that she’s a uterine slave who’s told that she likes it. Sad. So sad for all of them.
Awful, just awful. I feel for those poor traumatized girls.
That’s what happens when you grow up in a family that teach you sex is just to procreate after you’re married. This is so wrong, to sexually inhibit your teenager kids like that.. of course some of them could do something stupid and awful like that. I’m not shocked, I’m simply disgusted.
Also, there is no way to repent this.
What was Lena Dunham’s reason then?
I am no longer a Christian and always disliked this creepy family, but many people who aren’t Christian have done this kind of thing as teens. I don’t think we can blame religion totally here.
Natural curiosity isn’t getting out of your bed and going over to sister’s beds or them sleeping on a couch, seeking them out while they are sleeping, and fondling their breasts and genitals. Natural curiosity isn’t coming at a girl in the laundry room and putting your hands up under their dress to feel them up or or pulling down their pants to touch them while reading them a children’s story with them on your lap. Natural curiosity isn’t it happening with four sisters and one other girl.
That goes past kids and maybe a little inappropriate curiosity that was fleeting.
Oh, Jesus. I didn’t know about the pulling down pants with the kids on your lap thing. Or really any of the details. Holy Christ. THIS is your vessel? THIS is your chosen person? Your messenger? If so, F U.
I agree Jayna. Natural curiosity is looking at a Victoria’s secret catalog or a playboy. Not fondling little girls.
Excellent point, Jayna.
Any adult man that obsessed with his daughters sexual life is a creepy pervert.
Yup. Even Bill Cosby did that Cosby Show episode trying to figure out if Denise was a virgin when she got married. Birds of a fondler flock together.
All of this^^^^^
This is not an excusing question, but, who did it to him? Very few pedophiles are ‘born’. I’m looking at you Jim Bob.
Jim Bob indeed. The head creep of that family in my book.
The parents are responsible for how they raised him, they didn’t allow him to go to school where he could mature and develop amongst his peers, raised him with an obsession with sex being evil, isolated him with only siblings for company, didn’t educate him properly on relationships and filled his head with misogyny, religious superstition and ignorance. It’s not surprising that a very isolated, extremely immature, confused, stupid teenager with no appropriate information and guidance would respond to teenage hormones and sexual urges in such an unnatural and damaging manner.
I do worry that he doesn’t seem to understand why he did what he did. He knows he was wrong but he doesn’t seem to realise where it came from. He makes his living railing against gay families but it’s families like his that are dangerous to children.
I feel terrible for his poor sisters being raised in that family for many reasons but I feel sorry for him too. Nobody asks to be born into a toxic cult and the brainwashing can be beyond what many are able to overcome.
Checking in too late and can only hope the show is cancelled immediately. Everybody else can lobby their legislatures to abolish statutes of limitations for these crimes.
” I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.”
Yeah, YOUR life. Narcissist.
So sexual relations between two consenting adults of the same sexual orientation is an abomination, so is sex before marriage, but incest AND child molestation is A-Ok in the Duggar’s book? Right. I’m done.
I used to watch TLC like 10-15 years ago, but admittedly, nothing on that channel has interested me on that channel in a long time. Now Mama June is pitching a fit and suing because they dropped her in a NY minute but seem to have no intentions on dropping the Duggars. She does have a point but this whole sh!t show station needs to be boycotted.
I wonder if the non-relative is his wife.
I also wonder if the assaults are the reason why the oldest daughter has not dated … do they consider her spoiled goods because she was basically raped. Or does she feel the need to stay at home and protect her younger siblings? Ive also found it strange that they’ve been arranging marriages for the other daughters, and just believed they had a building in day care with her they didnt want to lose.
The non-relative might be from that other family that also has a lot of children……the Bates???
Didn’t they do an episode where the Bates visited and slept over?
I wonder if the victims had a choice of whether they wanted to forgive him or not
It is amazing to me that TLC has not cancelled the show, effective immediately. How can they support of family who espouse bigoted views in the guise of Christianity (last I knew, Christ wasn’t known for his bigoted values but more for love and acceptance of your fellow human beings), when the family supports a child molester (that is what he is- no mincing words)? Didn’t they cancel honey boo boo b/c her mom supports a child molester? The way I see it, the whole family is complicit in this lie and so the show needs to be cancelled and their 15 mins of fame ended immediately, before they influence more crappy human beings.
He is scum.
And the people making excuses for him are even worse in my eyes.
Serial killers were once “young” to when they started their craziness. No excuses.
That whole family creeps me out.
I knew there was something creepy about this family! Michelle Duggar’s voice just has such a robotic tone to it. The girls all being brainwashed into thinking the only thing you are good for is to birth as many babies as your body will allow. Never mind making something of yourself, just marry a.s.a.p. and be a housewife and mom. And Jim Bob, don’t even get me started.
Do the siblings remember the attacks? If so, they should testify against their brother and he should be thrown in jail. How horrible. No wonder these girls can’t wait to get out of that house. Or have they been brought up to believe it was no big deal? In that case would it be acceptable to them if one of their children winds up molesting a sibling? And that the parents covered this up. Don’t watch this show, never would. TLC used to be The Learning Channel but somewhere along the way they resorted to shows like this.
Nightmare. They never stop molesting. These people have used their platform to proclaim what they see as all the sin in our society. Meanwhile, they have been hiding true evil, harboring a person who has done the worst thing a human can do..hurt a child. I’m glad they had a good time being so sanctimonious and judging all of us,because now their time has come.
On another note, I was watching an interview with Michelle Duggar last night, before I knew any of this. She said that when she was 15 she was in her yard in a swimsuit and an adult male neighbor was looking at her and the neighbor’s wife “didn’t like” her. She did not realize until she “became a Christian” and met Jim Bob, that is was her fault for wearing a swimsuit that an adult man was looking at and having impure thoughts about a 15 year old child.
That’s an example of how this family thinks.
This show should be cancelled.
Tlc is own by the same people that own a&e so nothing will be done, also it would be nice if Sarah palin, Ted Cruz and the rest of the conservatives he’s friends with would say something about how this is a crime and come out against him and that Fox News would cover this like they cover minority crimes and illegal alien stories.
Um…it’s at the top of the front page of Fox News’ website right now, and has been all morning.
I got this information from another site yesterday:
To contact Discovery Communications:
DCI World Headquarters
One Discovery Place
Silver Springs, MD 20910
(240) 662-2000
Chairman: Robert Miron
President & CEO: David M. Zaslav
david_zaslav@discovery.com
Thanks. Just sent email telling him to cancel show.
Thank you, I’m posting it on Facebook for all of my friends to see.
As a survivor of a relative who was a pedophile let me tell you – they never stop, ever. It ruined so many things for me and for six decades I’ve carried the ugly feelings that I’ve never been able to shed, even with years of therapy. Josh is unlikely to stop and his next victims will be home-grown. It amazes me how many people try to excuse him and give no thought to the lifelong damage he has done to girls.
My parents knew my attacker was a pedophile. They knew it long before I was even born. Yet they, nor my aunts and other uncles made any attempt to protect the children. I guess they didn’t want to “make a fuss”.
So, given my history, I feel no forgiveness for him. He has felt free to pass out judgments on others, so now I’m judging him. Human feces.
I am so sorry you had to go through this. I am so sorry that nobody protected you. Thank you for sharing your story. I’m sending you love.
I am sorry but both Josh & Jim Bob creep me out..
Pray to God and seek forgiveness, fine. But protect your children. These girls have been taught that money and the family brand is more important than their well being. That is not Christian.
This is a million times worse than Game of Thrones. This is reality. Let’s see how many senators announce that they’re not watching the Duggars any more.
I’ve always felt for the eldest daughter Jana who wasn’t allowed to work outside home and has had to raise her younger siblings and now acts also as some kind of nanny to Josh’s kids too when his family is travelling. She seems to be some kind of general slave at the Duggar house who is never allowed to go out and have but instead has to make clothes for her siblings, chaperone them during the courting and acts as a mother for the youngest kids.
It felt odd that Jim Bob and Michelle didn’t arrange her dates like they did with their other daughters since it would be fitting to have them marry off the daughters in an order from oldest to youngest. I just assumed they and Josh wanted to keep her unmarried to continue having her act as the family slave/maid but now with the information coming out that Josh molested his sisters, I have a horrible feeling that Jana was a big victim of his and is somehow deemed as too unpure to get married.
From what I read on that link someone posted above, when a poster on that blog back in 2007 leaked this, they said the oldest daughter was not touched by Josh. So that would make it the next four in age.
I feel for those girls. I feel because I went through the same.
Please someone report this to CPS. Don’t let it go. I would report it myself but I don’t live in America.
Peace to you. I agree this is very scary because there is no way to determine the true extent of the abuse and get the victims, all of them, the help and support they need.
No wonder these girls want to get married and get the hell out of that house as soon as possible.
And I will add: It is an absolute OBSCENITY to claim that the aftermath of this type of abuse “brings the family closer to God.” NO IT DOES NOT. How dare they force that misogynist Handmaid’s Tale BS on the victims. Cruelty.
The Handmaid’s Tale does come to mind at times like these. How many of us have daughters? Scary.
Where were the parents when they were supposed to be supervising their children? Left a 10-year-old in charge of 8 or so kids while they went out on date night? Nothing would surprise me with these 2 weirdos.
They were in another room, screwing most likely.
Thank you very much for providing Discovery Channel’s contact information and linking the petition. I wrote an email to the CEO David Zaslav, called Discovery and signed the petition requesting they cancel show.
My first thought when I read that one of Josh’s was requesting identity protection, was that Jim Bob or his church pressured her to do it or somehow manipulated the situation to make it sound like it was in her best interest. Why do the records have to be destroyed?
If there are anymore victims out there (hopefully not) I hope they come forward. I’m not just referring to Josh, but Jim Bob as well.
I just feel soooo bad for his sisters. It must have been so confusing for them. They knew what Josh was doing was wrong but they were taught to respect him as a male. What a terrible thing for a little girl to deal with. Then their dad does nothing to stop it and they have to endure it even more. Then it’s all brushed under the rug and they have to pretend like everything is A-OK with their brother. Ugh. Awful.
I’m sure Josh felt entitled to use his sisters bodies because of how he was raised. It’s sick. Jim Bob and Michelle should be wracked with guilt over how their twisted belief system has hurt their children.
Justice for Jane Jill Jessa Jinger Joy anna.
Can’t help but add that Sarah looks like somebody’s crazy grandma who raided her younger daughter’s closet in that pic. Seriously delusional.
I can’t deal with this story. I wanted the Duggars to fall as much as the next person but this is disgusting. Of course the couple Christian wing nuts I’m friends with on FB keep posting about how we should forgive him and how God healed him and I just want to crawl in a hole. This planet sucks.
SMH…See, now I’d have to block them so I wouldn’t lose my mind.
I’m just going to be a Vulcan now.
Five girls and counting, mark my words….
Yup, there will be more and I hope they come forward. The bastard is a predator and is a danger to his family and anyone else he comes into contact with. SMH…
you know what? EVERYONE should just skip asking/counting on TLC to cancel this show. Let’s get real and start emailing our tv service providers to DROP THIS CHANNEL ALL TOGETHER. My email to Shaw Cable will be going out shortly…..
Maybe TLC should keep it on the air and film multiple episodes of sending the girls to counseling. I mean, obviously the victims don’t want to be paraded around, but letting the family retreat into obscurity isn’t going to help them either.
This is so awful. TLC needs to cancel that show ASAP, and stop airing re-runs of anything even remotely related to The Duggars. Molesting children is not a mistake. It’s a crime and an act of sexual violence against a child that will forever change the life of that child. Ugh.
TMZ is reporting as pulled from its lineup
First it’s animal abuse, now children!!!??? What else do these sick, poor excuses for human beings do? There is something really wrong with our world if we give people like this their own tv show. I think his children should be taken away from him, and he should go to jail, end of story.
I can tell you one thing, Jesus would not want anything to do with these people if he was alive now.
TMZ i reporting TLC has pulled the show off the air but hasn’t decided what to do with it in the long run.
Thank goodness for this.
I can’t see the situation improving. TLC is probably just buying time.
The Duggers belong to a cult, follow the teaching of Bill Gothard or the Institute of Life Principles, basically a homeschooler cult. The cult holds up the traditional roles of family, so basically worship the men & women have no other role other than to be a baby bus. Apparently the men even worship themselves. Its a seriously emotionally damaging cult. Knew a girl that grew up in it & it has scared her for life. She says the Duggers are held up as their “spirit”, the family they should represent & mimic. Bill Gothard the founder of the cult was also charged with sexual harassment. Sarah Palin, Huckabee have connections to it as well.
When I was a teenager I attended a Bill Gothard / Basic Life Principles course with some well-meaning, generous-hearted, uber-Christian extended family members. I don’t remember many details, but it all seemed to make sense at the time and I left the conference feeling energized and inspired.
As I vaguely recall, they have very specific ideas about male and female gender roles but say it in a way that makes it seem “reasonable” to their audience. As a result, no one thinks they’re being oppressed. But my best friend at the time told me years later that when I came home after that summer in Oklahoma I seemed brainwashed and way too intense about religion.
I later returned to sanity when I decided that the God they described would never allow my perfectly good-hearted non-Christian friends to burn in Hell, as they told me would happen all too frequently during church sermons. Thank God my mom raised me outside of that environment. Maybe she was just too tired to get up early for Sunday church while working 3 jobs, but either way I think it worked out better for me.
Gothard himself is an evil, evil man. He’s been accused and I believe indicted of sexual assault: he was coming on (and worse) to naive young women whose parents placed them in his charge. His association, of course, stood behind him, and although he resigned from the head of his cult he probably still runs it behind the scenes.
The board of directors of ATI includes many men with daughters who still support him, including Gil Bates, the father of a similar fundy family.
The Duggars are a shining example of why so many Americans are taking the non-religious route. The Duggars are not about faith. They are sinister and make a mockery of Christianity.
Their only belief is in themselves and the millions they are getting paid.
I am one that believes a molester can never be “cured.” These people need to be off the air and their sponsors should drop them like a hot iron.
I’m in the UK and these people have always been just random and really low-brow, peculiar American noise to me. I’ve never understood their popularity, mainly because I’ve never understood how obvious, ignorant, bigoted, God-bothering, right-wing nutballery has an audience?
Surely the real shame here lies with an America that gave them a voice?
Well…it’s not like all of America watches the show or thinks it’s a good idea. It’s not even true that the majority of Americans share their so-called “values”. It’s all about money. Television in the US is a niche market, and there is unfortunately a very large and insatiable market for hate and bigotry in this country. Some of it is masked by so-called “Christian values,” though I seek in vain to find examples of their hate in the New Testament which they wave like sledgehammers over any objectors’ heads. I realize you’re not suggesting we’re all bigots, of course; just wanted to point out that most of us are actually relatively sane people.
@Dr.Funkenstein – Absolutely not condemning America at large (and thanks for recognising that ), but just trying to understand why they were eg. given such a large and relatively benign and almost friendly platform on an intelligent and thoughtful site like this (I had a read back earlier and I’m quite gobsmacked at the nature of the coverage) when everything about them for the word go screamed – imo – the most awful dysfunctional bigotry.
I’m always reminded that and *why* the Puritans left England to come here… and, as a result with longstanding ramifications, there is still a far different heritage and tone to religion and predominantly ‘puritanical’ ideological underpinnings here. Also, I’d never underestimate the social chasms between home-grown fundagelicals embracing a ‘proselytizing’ approach vs. other versions of Christianity. In all of the aforementioned, the idea of ‘spectacle’ and ‘cult’ and ‘public vs. private’ is quite different here as well.
The comments regarding this on the “Dugger Family Blog” are outrageously scary, and show this cult has a following of f*cking brainwashed fools. Things like
“So sorry to hear about this. Most of us do something as a young person that we would do just about anything to take back; I’m sure this is true for Josh.”
“My heart has been heavenly burdened for Josh & Anna, and the entire Duggar clan as this story unfolded today”
‘we all make mistakes” and shit about how he was ‘so young”.
172 comments on that one post alone about everyones support for this POS… I think I saw one comment actually feeling sorry for the girls!
*end of raging rant*
I’m disgusted. It’s sickening that a TV channel supports sexual abuse of children. So many people seem to think it’s okay, and that says a lot about society in America.
I am not rationalizing this at all, but the fault is with the adults, which he at the time wasn’t. Upon the first discovery of this by an adult, the 14/15 year old child should have received counseling and real medical therapy not church counseling, a stern talking to, and church work camp.
I am not a fan of the Duggars, they creeped me out way before this, but calling him a child molester now when he was a child too with obvious psychological and developmental issues seems wrong. I think it is possible that he has rehabilitated himself through the years, but with their very repressed family seems like that would be hard to do. However, I have limited knowledge on children who molest other children or their siblings. Still it bothers me that most of the negative comments are about him, and not the parents or any other adult who knew about this. They needed to help all of their children, and they did not do it.
15 years old is old enough to understand that sneaking up on young girls and touching them is wrong. Depending on the ages of his victims, and whether they were truly young children, he may have a sexual compulsion that cannot be overcome easily, particularly where he’s not been given consequences.
Based on sleuthing done on Gawker, there were only 5 sisters alive in 2003 when the abuse took place. Some commentator on a message board from years ago, indicated that the oldest sister was not touched, so that left 4 younger sisters, aging as young as 5 years old in 2003. That is not a teenage boy having sexual impulses and no outlets other than his sisters. Normal teenage boys would masterbate before molesting a 5 year old girl, especially their sister.
Or the old testament approach, you find him touching the girls, you beat him to within an inch of his life.
This is what the father should have done! And then gotten them ALL to Therapy. Because when they found out, he was 14. Not a pedophile, but a kid who needed to learn respect for his sisters and boundaries. Instead, they let it continue for several more years.
I’m a high school teacher and everyone here judging has NO IDEA how often this happens with boys in their early teens. I bet everyone posting here has someone close to them who has either done this as a teen or been a victim of it. You don’t call a 14 year old a pedophile and lock him up! You scare the hell out of him and get him help to understand his urges are not wrong, but you don’t use your sisters to satisfy them.
But many posting here are just hysterical and ignorant over this. And where was their outrage when Lena Dunham did this? It’s ok because she was female?
I’m grateful to come to CB and read intelligent and reflective comments on this horrible story.
Youth and immaturity can be associated by many mistakes in life. Child molestation is definitely NOT one of them. Gross.
I was raped in my sleep as a child by my own brother, too…I feel for the girls, but who ever says they tempted him to molest I’d going straight to Hell with their abuser. This makes me sick.
So sorry you endured that.
Yes, people who blame innocent children for their own molestation are beyond contempt.
This whole thing is a good wake up call for those who think that people who claim to be Christians are above reproach.
My heart BLEEDS for his victims and the blame for his not being dealt with appropriately lies on those parents.
These articles have me sad, angry and a heck of other emotions are just running around … hope the children did get the proper medical / counselling attention that they needed. This just pisses me off to a whole set of %&#Q!@!(&*!!!
Hope the articles do end up in a proper investigation starting with the parents.
I’m going to be pessimistic here and say that I would bet the girls got no counseling at all. They might have had some half-a**ed religious person talk to them, which probably did no good.
I still think there are other shoes that will drop.
What depresses the heck out of me is thinking of how many victims are out there that will never lead a normal life because of this kind of abuse and whose abuse will never see the light of day. The amount of crimes that are perpetrated daily against children, women, animals is overwhelming to me. Most of it is perpetrated by men. When men stand up and say enough is enough, maybe our planet will survive long term. At this point it’s not looking good.
So TLC decided to pull episodes only after there was a ton of backlash and outrage.
Ugh, it really disgusts me.
Corporations aren’t people and I get that, but the heartlessness shown by them just reminds me how much horribly sketchy stuff happens that isn’t leaked because they just don’t care.
So does this mean Lena Dunum? is any better or worse. Same thing happens and everyone just passes it off as natrual exploration. I won’t and don’t agree with what he did and it’s obvious he got away with it but come down on everyone who does this sort of thing, not just the religious nuts.
Tbh Dunham infuriates people like me.
I want the world to come down just as hard on her but unfortunately white feminists have closed ranks around her and have their fingers in their ears refusing to hear reason.
Sadly I imagibe many who defended Dunham are probably condemning this man (and RIGHTFULLY so).
Compared to Josh Duggar, Lena Dunham got away too easy and I am still asking, if it is due to the fact, that she is a woman.
I’m white and a feminist, and not that I needed a really good reason to detest Lena Dunham, what she did to her sister is as good a reason as any.
Furthermore, I recall many of the same voices here condemning the guilty Duggars saying similar of Dunham. This has zero to do with political/socioeconomic ideologies, and everything to do with the fact that a sick person raised in a repressive/overly permissive environment is probably going to act on those urges. This is not a feminist/not feminist issue, but a purely human one.
This white feminist hates Lena Dunham as well.
i think it is because she is a female
i have an acquaintance that was molested by her sister, she told her parents, the parents didnt believe it because it was girl on girl abuse. she told the school nurse. eventually the school or authorities (not sure what the laws were back then) insisted the victim get counseling and she did. but the molester didnt. and the family never really got why it was a thing. so this poor girl grew up without a lot of support and was really messed up by it.
the older sister? keeps trying to foster to adopt little girls and they keep getting taken away.
(yes her sister did tell whoever she gets the foster children from that she shouldnt be getting all these foster children but she gets them anyway)
THANK you for saying this. I think they are BOTH gross and should be held accountable for their actions, but it kills me that Dunham gets a pass. I can’t even look at her anymore.
I wondered the same thing. Why is Lena Dunham getting off so easily when what she did was equally as dispicable? Is it because she’s a woman and her liberal, artistic family is given a pass for not teaching boundaries? She was excused here on CB on the Nov 5, 2014 post for not being raised right and most of the comments weren’t condemming her as they are on Josh’s thread. Why the double standard?
Molesters do what they do because they want power. It’s never just about the enjoyment of the act itself. It’s using another person for your own selfish desires without any concern for how it affects the victim. In Josh’s case, it can’t be fixed with a few months of counseling and prayer or getting married and having all the sex he wants “legitimately”.
I am familiar with the kind of environment that Josh was raised in, where for the sake of appearances, everyone keeps a lid on horrible things like this and tries to fix it “internally” within the family or the church. The bible teaches to submit to civil authorities because God places them there for the punishment of those that do evil. For the Duggers to bypass the systems in place for punishing evil is actually going against God’s commands. As a result, a very deep, complex and far-reaching sin never gets dealt with appropriately. The bible also says, “Be sure your sin will find you out”. Now at least, it’s out in the open and the pretence is blown. Glad to see that TLC is cancelling them for good.
So basically, he never received the counseling he needed. Therefore, he is most likely molesting children; possibly his daughters. I hope social services is conducting a thorough investigation.
TLC just announced that they are pulling the show!
http://www.salon.com/2015/05/22/tlc_pulls_19_kids_and_counting_after_sexual_abuse_confession/
I hope this is just the beginning of the Duggar implosion.
Edit: CB beat me to it….
I am still amazed who any other child molesters in Hollywood can still keep their jobs, like Roman Polanski.
I doubt the full extent of sexual/emotional abuse in this family will ever be known. At least they won’t be making money off of the whitewashed image they’ve been portraying for years.
“TLC has just pulled all airings of “19 Kids and Counting” from its lineup … TMZ has learned.
Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ, the fate of the show is uncertain, but there’s now so much heat in the wake of Josh Duggar’s molestation confession … the network had to make the decision.
We’re told they absolutely have not made a long-term decision, but it’s clearly a bad sign for the show.
And there’s this … a rep for General Mills tells TMZ, they have already blacklisted the show and removed it from their company’s current advertising schedule.
As we reported, TLC ran a Duggar marathon Thursday, prominently featuring Josh. There was big backlash, not the least of which came from Mama June, who felt TLC was giving the Duggars a pass for far worse conduct than hers, which caused TLC to pull the plug on ‘Honey Boo Boo.'”
Child protection service and the police failed, when the case was reported to the police, Josh wasn’t arrested, from what I read, they did nothing. They failed like his parents.
Every child who is molested is on his own and can’t expect any help, this is the world, where we live.
Families that harbor abuse and abusers tend to close ranks when someone ‘dares’ to level an accusation of abuse. The Duggars just know how to use their so-called faith to paint over what they’re doing and deflect attention from the authorities.
In the end, TLC will do the right thing (cancel) for the wrong reasons (money). Would like to see this show’s producers get dragged into a courtroom with “what did you know and when did you know it.”
Free the Duggar Females!
So he doesn’t even have to register as a sex offender?
His wife must have a personality disorder as well to marry this pervert. She is not of sound mind to have children. To knowingly marry a child molester is beyond sickening & disturbed.
This family is full of dysfunctional, toxic, malignant narcissists. They act superior, all-knowing. All they care about is their Image and $, power and control.
They are repulsive & evil.
Evil is Hate masquerading as Good.
Good old conservative family values. *vomit*
What really blew me away was this story came to light through In Touch Weekly, of all the trashy tabloids. I wonder if this is the first time they ever got anything right.
Maybe they were the only ones willing to follow up after the more “respectable” trashy tabloids passed.
Do any of the adults in that household have actual jobs? Jobs that pay well? Because with the loss of income from the now-cancelled show, it would infuriate me if those two now applied for unemployment, Medicaid and Food Stamps to care for the brood they irresponsibly brought into this world and are failing to parent. They won’t qualify for welfare cash benefits, at least.
The only job they have, is breeding children and showing their daily live to the cameras.
Whelp, I totally called this on the last article about Josh. There were SO MANY commentors saying that what he did ‘must not be that bad’ and was probably ‘a 17 year old making out with a 15 year old’. I hope the people that were saying that yesterday have opened there eyes a little bit now. Sadly this is not a world in which one can safely remain naive.
Given that TLC evidently has no problem supporting misogynistic BS and glorifying cultish behavior, one can only assume they’ve cancelled the show because sponsors were pulling out, not out of any real concern for the victims or shame at promoting this disturbing culture. But they aren’t likely to assist the victims in getting counseling or help anyone who wants to get an education and do something more than incubate fetuses.
Agree about TLC 100%.
That, and Ms. Big Boo Boo What’s-Her-Name threatened a lawsuit – because, you know, utter hypocrisy and not treating everyone as equals should be against the law.
This whole thing is like a stinky, wet mutt of ironies… and TLC now has to walk around with the fleas it brought with it.
Huh, I hadn’t heard that but , sure. Her show was cancelled because she allowed a known pedophile around her children, so fair is fair. It’s nice that people who are willing to overlook child abuse are still advocates for being treated fairly themselves.
Absolutely disturbing to hear, but I was not surprised in the least that this family would have this skeleton in their closet. It is disgusting that people like this make millions off a reality show while the victims suffer. This family needs to go away and keep their sick and twisted conservative values to themselves.
Begging judge by the public is the worst punishment Josh Duggar can get, unlike Roman Polanski, who didn’t go through this kind of punishment. For the rest of his life Josh and his parents won’t be remembered as faithful christians, his parents were exposed as hypocrits. I can’t think of a worser punishment for them. I hope they will lose their show. I am wondering, how they will sustain their family.
Remember her robocall?
” Last year, the Duggar matriarch recorded a robocall warning voters of Fayetteville, Arkansas, against a bill that would allow trans women to use the women’s bathroom.
“I doubt that Fayetteville parents would stand for a law that would endanger their daughters or allow them to be traumatized by a man joining them in their private space. We should never place the preference of an adult over the safety and innocence of a child,” she said. “I still believe that we are a society that puts women and children first…”
Wow. I am thoroughly disgusted.
Just saw where the TV show has been abruptly pulled. Yayyyy!!! Now if only the Duggars had to pay back all the money they made!
Disgusting. Clan of hypocrites.
Can I just say, in looking at that photo, Sarah Palin has really hit the wall.
I feel so sad for the victims. Just so sad.
Any support for this “man” makes me so angry. I was molested by a family member years ago, and never said a word as I didn’t want to traumatize my parents. The first person I told was my husband when we were dating. It caused a lot of anxiety and depression. I finally told my mum and found out my parents knew. They took me to our family doc as soon as they knew and filed a police report right away. The abuser fled the country. I was young and repressed most of it. My parents thought I didn’t remember or understand. I have a good career, marriage and family, but I lucked out. I am about to have my first baby, a little girl. I know I will be overprotective. The only men that will be alone with her are my husband, dad and brother.
How awful. It sounds like you have a great support system.
I was molested by my uncle as a 8/9 year old and I refuse to call myself a victim, I am a survivor and so are you, we got past what happened. My then fiance found out before I told anyone else. My uncle is still married to my aunt but she took his side and they both are not part of the family anymore. It took me 14 years to come forward so charges were never pressed.
I have two girls Sue Ellen and you are absolutely right, I was terribly protective of them, would highly recommend therapy as your daughter gets older, especially close to the age you were when it happened. It really teaches you how to handle this as a mother of a daughter. It helped me a lot and taught me how to raise daughters who are aware but not paranoid, there are good men out there, you and I and many women like us have just been unfortunate enough to run into the scum among them.
Seventeen kids still at home. All 20 living off of the fruits of the show and all of the side projects that come from it and endorsements and all of the cache’ in the ultra-conservative world, what are they going to do? All the free trips, all of the gifts they received, gone. I hope Jim Bob socked some money away.
And Josh, fourth kid on the way. He was photographed with a lot of the far right wing politicians, but will now be persona non grata. He has lost his job. No TV money now from appearing on the show. Even if it comes back, he won’t be on it, I guarantee. The wife doesn’t work. The world knows he molested four sisters and one other kid, so I doubt if he goes back to his used car lot he will get many sales..
How the mighty have fallen.
Amen to this.
From your mouth to God’s ear.
My fear is that some wing nut whackadoodles will start a Go Fund Me, secure him another gig, raise money to help ‘the family’ out more, etc., just to ‘prove a point’ that would turn your stomach.
Does Child Protection Services have the legal grounds to begin an investigation into Josh’s relationship with his daughters since he’s a high risk as a repeat offender?
Great question!!
Scary shit. My 12 year old son used to get a lift to his miniature railway club with a guy who I thought was alright. Then one day I got a phone call from the club’s secretary and he told me that a visitor to the club saw this guy and informed them that he used to go to their club in some country town and had served time for sexually assaulting a kid who was the same age as my son. I jumped on the Internet and searched for this guy on a registered sex offenders site and sure enough he came up as a repeat offender. Luckily he hadn’t done anything to my son but who knows what might have happened if that visitor hadn’t spotted him. Now my boy knows that you can’t tell who’s a pedo and who isn’t, so he always makes sure that he’s never alone with any adults.
Who was the second oldest? It sounds like that was the one that first told, and it happened around three or four times she said that he would come into her bed at night and she said he would grope her breasts and vagina. It might not be the second oldest, but I surmise it was out of all of them.
The laundry room incident. I don’t know which sister that was, but she said he came in the laundry room and said there was a hole in her dress and lifted her dress up. When he saw she had pants on underneath, he pulled those down and started touching her vagina.
The couch incident was a babysitter while she was sleeping on the couch.
The second oldest daughter? That’s Jill. She seems to be the most confident and articulate of the girls. It broke my heart that she was crying when she told her dad. Another of the girls started crying during her police interview. This really makes me sad for these girls. Their parents failed them.
What concerns me is that the Duggar’s connections have helped them “expunge” the 2006 record from the Springdale Police Dept. The spokesman said these type of records are kept indefinitely, except of course not the Duggar’s. While the request was supposedly made by one of the victims, I think the Duggar’s made sure the record was destroyed. Someone needs to investigate who was involved in this process and why.
4 of the 5 victims were his siblings so it would not surprise me in the least if the Family pressured one of their daughters to file the motion under the threat of banishment (which can be life or death for large families like this).
I am glad to at least see that god awful show off the air.
You know Anna Duggar could throw on her big girl panties, get Gloria Allred or similar as her attorney, divorce his a$$ and take down the entire family with this…..she won’t do it – but she damn sure could
You know Anna Duggar could throw on her big girl panties, get Gloria Allred or similar as her attorney, divorce his a$$ and take down the entire family…..she won’t do it – but she damn sure should.
She won’t do it because she has been conditioned to never go against men, that she is a second class citizen. I hope for her sake that she will see the light of day.
I do, too, but i doubt it. She’s uneducated and probably feels she couldn’t support her family. She will stick with this loser for good.
The question in my mind is, “Who decided to drudge this up?” And did so successfully? Josh has been rubbing elbows with right-wing politicians, so my guess is someone did this to stop his political aspirations. But who???
I don’t think a scandal was needed at stop any political aspirations he might have had. You would only have to look at the uneducated twerp to realize he was going nowhere.
Look how far Palin almost made it. She wasn’t exactly at the top of her class.
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Why does he sound like he’s a victim? And , how many more will now come forward. Sickos. Hurt 1 child and you should die.
read what these folks are saying: http://www.duggarfamilyblog.com/
Many of those comments are disturbing but the one that stands out is the one that said…. “Playing doctor and nurse in the 60’s didn’t mean molesting.”
WTH??
they are defending him and his actions, its actually very worrying that they can excuse his actions!!! Really worried about the well being of Jana, instead of people praying for them they need help. Someone rescue Jana from this horrible cult.
Those comments are overwhelmingly sad and disgusting. This was no teenage mistake. This was incestuous molestation by someone who was old enough to operate a vehicle or have a job. That these people are trying to be politically active, and that any people would vote for them, truly frightens me.
Once a molester, always a molester. The Duggar’s are far more delusional than I suspected.
Some good news:
Effective immediately, TLC has pulled all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting currently from the air. We are deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and victims at this difficult time.
This is sickening all around. I hope the victims can get the help they need to find their voice and stand tall.
Also, the slut-shaming has to stop! We don’t need to teach our girls to be careful of how they dress/act so they don’t arouse a man. We need to teach our boys about healthy boundaries and responsibility for their own actions. Enough with the victim blaming and shaming.
Those parents knew all this apparently and still wanted to be famous and signed on for a TV show. It’s a sycophantic self-absorption type of behaviour that lets this go on. They preach all these ideals about love and virtue, yet they don’t look out for others (or even their own), they just looked at their bottom dollar and the fame they got from reproducing. It seems like there might have been the potential for other abuse to be occurring in that family beyond this molestation.
It’s important to not write about this like the behavior he had at 14/15 has somehow magically stopped along the way. Most pedophiles start at this age and continue their abuse after they have “confessed.” A pedophile is a pedophile no matter if they are an inbred right wing nutjob pseudo-christian or a tolerant, well educated, non-syndicated volunteer docent at a state park on the weekends. Abuse is abuse and it’s likely this is just the tip of the iceberg.
This story just gets more and more disturbing…
After reading through the “police report”, two of Josh’s victims (presumably his sisters) full out claim that they don’t REMEMBER what happened to them AT ALL.
This could mean one of two very depressing things…
ONE: The girls have repressed the molestation memories, in some form of PTSD (which makes me think that much more than just “groping” went on)…
TWO: The girls were coached by their parents on what to say to the police officer when asked what actually happened (which ALSO makes me think that there is much more to the story than is being reported.
UGH.
Running for office in 3… 2… 1….
And with the police destroying the records, he’ll be free to act like it never happened, just like he and his parents did anyway!
The Duggars have reached a new low. What’s even more concerning to me is that many molesters were molested as a child. So was it his father who started it all, especially since he ignored what was happening with his own son against his own daughters for so long?
This is really sad. I doubt Josh or the girls got the help they need, although maybe the publicity might encourage it or at least inspire his wife to keep an eye on him with their kids. He was quite young when it started, we can always hope that he did actually stop (he did tell his parents about it and apparently told his wife about it before marriage). I don’t think he’s irredeemable, the question is if he has really dealt with it successfully. His religion in this case is more of a hindrance than a help, they depend more on fear of hellfire than real therapy. But his parents also might simply not known what to do. They did take him to the police, treating it seriously, and tried to basically rehab him with “hard work” away from the family. Maybe it all did help him work things out. I would be concerned about how they handled it with his sisters, although I don’t really see his parents as monsters. A tad deluded and obsessed with reproducing, but not necessarily unkind in such a situation. Clueless, perhaps.
The only silver lining is that maybe this will get that awful show off the air. I think it has made it ten times harder for the kids to make their own decisions.
One other thought: since Josh was a minor at the time, I don’t see why people are complaining about the lack of publicity. Actually, the fact that someone is disclosing police records on a minor is a bit disturbing. The standard is to keep those sealed for some very good reasons, even though we may have doubts about the competence of local officials for dealing properly with this particular matter.
Oh! Not as bad as The Malaysian Minister’s respond to a state sponsored student who got caught and jail in UK for possession and making 30000 child porn docs. They want to give him a second chance and continue sponsoring his study at any uni of his choice In Malaysia. Makes me want to strangle the minister and his equally sick friends. Josh should be in jail.
I always loved the show until the married daughters got married and pregnant. Then I gottdisgusted . I begin to wish that those girls , including Anna would not follow in Michelles footsteps and have all those babies. They should quit now and change their life styles. Just figure out what YOU want your life to be and do not copy your mother! Anna, I would worry about my babies if I were you. Everyones financial life will change now and life will becoma different without the money so please change who you think you are.
This is very upsetting to me not just on the obvious level but on a personal level. They mention some of the girls were his sisters. And his parents go on TV praising him for what he’s become? Sounds familiar. My brother molested me when I was eight and he was twelve, and my parents finally found out when I was 20. My dad (not biological, but through marriage/adoption) flipped out. My mom defended my brother and then attempted suicide. Now I’m expected not to say anything bad about my brother (BTW, he not only molested me but tortured animals. I know for sure he tried to drown my sister’s cat, and he talked about torturing many wild animals, but we had several pets disappear through the years, so who knows. Also, he spent many years telling me I was a shitty person, that nobody loved me, that I should kill myself, and that no man would ever be nice to me except to f*ck me, and even then he would regret it because my vagina is disgusting), but I’m supposed to smile and agree when my mom gives glowing reports about how well he’s doing (apparently he hardly ever hits his wife anymore!!).
I don’t mean to make this about me. My point is that they’re making this about what a good person he is and how he made ‘mistakes’ while not even focusing on the victims and how this media circus makes them feel. I’m guessing hearing what a wonderful person he is is not healthy for them.
So, what did the pervert cop get in exchange for his silence? He got to have his creepo fantasies stirred by hearing detailed accounts of his favorite thing. I wonder if he got anything else?
The sole reason Josh is being crucified is because he’s a christian conservative. Lena Dunham is an outspoken liberal advocate for women’s rights; she’s written comically about sexually molesting & exploiting her sister. When people criticized her for writing so gleefully about it, she and her fellow liberals came to her defense, calling it “innocent sexual exploration.” Of course, she’s not a christian conservative. Now those same people are attacking Josh for something he did when he was himself a minor, as if he is the same person now as he was then. Yet he is the one who admits what he did was wrong, he is the one who received counseling while Lena looks back at what she did as innocent child’s play. It doesn’t stop with Dunham. Peter Yarrow molested a 14 year old girl when he was 31 yet he gets to be a fundraiser for Democrats and write children’s books. Harvey Milk had sex with underage boys, but his image is sanitized for the big screen and he is even rewarded with his own stamp while those who oppose such glorification are dismissed as anti-gay bigots. Don King murdered 2 people, including stomping 1 to death; but he’s allowed to make millions and campaign for Obama. To these liberals, redemption and forgiveness is only for those who share their ideology.