Full disclosure, I am a huge fan of “19 Kids and Counting”. Â I have recorded and watched every show, marveling at their lifestyle and culture which somewhat miraculously works for them. I heard the crew say on last week’s show that in 10 years of filming, 10 years of being so close to this family, not once has either parent EVER raise their voice to a child. Impressive. But no family is perfect and the Duggars proved to be no exception.[read_more]
The news broke today that when the Josh Duggar was 14 and 15 years old he sexually fondled several little girls some of whom were his sisters. Today he resigned his job at the Family Research Council.
In 2002 and 2003 one of Josh Duggar’s sisters told their parents that Josh had been fondling her when she was asleep. Â Several other sisters had also been fondled and as well as another little girl. It’s not clear if the other child was a relative or a family friend. Â In total five girls were molested by Josh Duggar.
In 2006, when Oprah had a scheduled interview with the family her production company Harpo received a tip about the molestation. From Eonline:Â
Harpo alerted the Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline and the Springdale Police Department received a copy of the email at 9 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2006, according to the police report.
James (Jim Bob) Duggar and wife Michelle Duggar then brought Josh to the Children’s Safety Center in Springdale on Dec. 12 to be questioned with regard to the allegations; the report further states that James told police that Josh had admitted to multiple instances of molestation, said to have occurred in 2002 and 2003, and had subsequently spent four months in a counseling program in 2003.
The full police report from 2006 is here, with names redacted. Â (James is the Duggar father, commonly called Jim Bob.) According to the Duggars they did not alert police at the time of the molestations in 2003 but instead spoke with church Elders and sent Josh for treatment and counseling for a three month period, from March 17, 2003 until July 17, 2003. They later admitted Josh received no counseling but went to work for a family friend in another Little Rock who owned a remodeling business. When Josh returned the Duggars took him to speak with a family friend, Arkansas State Trooper Jim Hutchens. No arrest was made, Mr.Hutchens gave Josh a very ‘stern talking’. Mr. Hutchens is now serving 56 years in prison for possession of child pornography. Â (I am not making this up, the story is here.) The whole story and the investigation came to light when someone found a long forgotten letter written by one of Josh’s victims in a book borrowed from the Duggar family. Â Again, I am not making this up.Â
Josh Duggar has sincerely apologized for his actions when he was teenager and has resigned his job with the family Research Council.  Of course the left has been quick to jump on this story and accuse the Duggars, and all Christians, of being hypocrites while the right has been quick to say that the Duggars aren’t hypocrites, progressives are.Â
As a lifelong child advocate, the resolution of this story just doesn’t sit well with me. As far as I can tell, Josh Duggar never received any counseling of any kind, nothing other than a stern lecture from a disgraced cop, and a few months of hard labor remodeling houses. Was that enough to prevent him from repeating his actions? I have no idea, nor does anyone else. Â Why didn’t his parents immediately get Josh into counseling when they learned of his actions?
My concern is for his children, his 5 year old daughter and the daughter that is about to be born. Will those two little girls (and there are likely to be more) be safe throughout their lives? While Josh’s apologies are a good thing, can he and will he offer assurances that no child molestation will ever happen again? Â I would feel much better if he could say that he had received intensive counseling and he would never, ever, molest another little girl. I haven’t heard that yet and that causes me concern for his daughters as well as the many other little girls around him now and in the future.
The Washington Post says TLC should not pull “19 Kids and Counting”. Â Color me surprised.
21 comments
Society needs to stand up to any abuser and let those that abuse know it will not be tolerated, it is not OK. It is a crime against society. Shawn Williams should resign and take Leo Rogers with him.
I believe his father sought the counsel of a minister? That’s clearly what his pederast son needed!
I don’t see the word, “evil” anywhere, and that’s what the matter is. We as a society don’t talk about evil anymore. Too bad. Because that’s how evil continues. “Let’s keep this matter in the family”, and “Counseling is the answer.” Josh Duggar – at well above the age of reason – committed EVIL crimes multiple times on multiple innocent and younger victims. Forgiveness my foot – he needs JAIL time!
There was no counseling. He was sent to do some work for a friend.
the whole thing is creepy. His parents protected him. the state trooper is serving time for a child porn charge. (I’m with you on this Jeanine–you just can’t make this up). His wife doesn’t seem to have a problem with this since she keeps having children. just weird.
This sort of stuff happens all the time to people of all races, creeds, ethnicities, and nationalities. There is something fundamentally wrong with the mental wiring of a teenage boy or full grown man who is sexually drawn to children under age 10. When I was a 15 year old boy all I could think of was girls my age and older.
My wife and I do not have cable and we have never watched the Duggars on TV, so I know nothing about them. And I do not relish saying this, but some folks on the Religious Right with their holier-than-thou attitudes are bound to get scorned when they are shown to fall short of the bar they set.
Since you don’t watch the show you wouldn’t be aware that there is no ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude from them as some on the left who are uncomfortable with any religious believes would have you believe. They have morals that they have set for their family, they do not impose them on anyone else. Still, the family makes the left very uncomfortable because the family is modest, God centered, and (horrors) they pray, read the bible, and try to follow God’s word.
“but some folks on the Religious Right with their holier-than-thou
attitudes are bound to get scorned when they are shown to fall short of
the bar they set.”
could not have said it better myself. well said, Mr. Jaworowski.
Except you’ve never seen the show so you have no idea how wrong you are. The Duggars have set no bar for anyone other than themselves and they readily admit when they fall well short of that bar just as they have done in this case. You’ll have to search for another example to prove your point that Christians are awful people.
darlin one of these days you need to learn how to read. And you don’t know whether I’ve seen the show or not.
Exactly. Was anybody this upset when Lena Dunham made a playful anecdote of touching her sister with such regularity that her sister hid rocks in her vagina as a joke, knowing that during the next touchy-time the rocks would be discovered? Or when one of the founders of the HRC was caught diddling an underage boy?
Who is Lena Dunham? And what is the HRC?
Lena Dunham is a liberal actress and writer who produces the HBO series “Girls.” Critical darling and commercial dud, the entertainment media is all over her. The HRC is the Human Rights Campaign and they’re one of the biggest pro-SSM organizations out there. Terry Bean, one of the co-founders, got busted for having sex with at least one underage boy. Nobody in the media openly wondered if anybody else had been victimized.
http://koin.com/2014/11/20/new-arrest-made-in-terry-bean-investigation/
Jeanine,
I appreciate your concern with protecting children and women.
The history with Leo Rogers and Shawn Williams seem to be swept under the rug by our elected officials. Have you seen the massive lawsuit against Leo Rogers personally? 75 million dollars is a big suit to defend. He and Middaugh never disclosed that the 1983/Rico suit was coming and now have no choice but to take up time to defend themselves. Setting aside our BOS hired Leo knowing about his record, and failed to call for Shaw’n resignation, I do not believe they knew about the 1983/RICO suit naming Leo and Middaugh.
Is there any evidence that he’s ever done this to his own children? If not I fail to see how expressing “concern” for them is anything but a soft accusation. He owned up to it then and it really can’t be said enough: this is none of the world’s damn business but the Duggars’. “They’re public figures,” some on our side argue, “and we have to be concerned about the victims.” The Duggars care more about the victims than random commentators on the internet. They know what happened in its entirety. They don’t want their own grandchildren molested. As much as I’m sure your “concern” for the children truly touches my heart as only a post on the internet by somebody whose concern is unnecessary can, I doubt the Duggars need it.
I sincerely hope that you are correct.
child molestation is a crime. Therefore, it is society’s business.
When I first read this story, I thought the police investigated & found no evidence of a crime. I did not know that he talked to a state trooper, who he himself, was guilty of possession of child pornography. so there was really no investigation.
what is the Arkansas statute of limitations for this?
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/05/22/mike-huckabee-leave-josh-duggar-alone/
this article says the Statute passed.
There are different types of molesters and there are factors like malice, intent, and forethought that go into every sentencing. Which is why under Arkansas law this would have been a misdemeanor rather than a felony. The parents of the one girl NOT a part of the family did not see fit to press charges. That’s why something like this has such a short statute of limitations. There are predators by nature and there are people who do bad things a few times for which they feel guilt the rest of their lives. If Josh was a predator by nature either he’d have been caught or other people would be stepping forward. If by the end of the summer nobody’s come forward I think we’ll know for sure which Josh is.
let’s see if he submits to psycho-sexual evaluation. then we’ll know
Why would he submit himself to review as though he’s in prison? Even if they say he’s got tendencies it won’t say anything about whether or not he’s actually molested anybody else. Even then, for those who hate the family there will always be another test for him to take. Man, some people just want to draw blood and they don’t care who they hurt along the way.