This thing is horrific.
The In Touch article has the details, and they’re jaw-dropping. Vaticanesque, but with the extra turn of the screw that the “girls” in question are his sisters. Maybe having 19 children isn’t such a brilliant idea after all, huh?
WARNING: Graphic descriptions contained in police report.
Jim Bob Duggar waited more than a year after his son, Josh, confessed to sexually molesting several female minors before contacting police, In Touch Magazine is reporting exclusively, based on information contained in the official police report.
The female minors were his sisters.
What’s more, Jim Bob informed the elders of his church about Joshua’s actions and they waited three months before contacting authorities. The explosive new information is contained in a Springdale, Ark., police report obtained by In Touch magazine.
The report has been hidden since 2006 and was just obtained by the mag through a Freedom of information Act request. Jim Bob also refused to allow police to interview Josh when they opened a felony investigation in 2006. The Duggars star on TLC’s hit show 19 Kids and Counting.
Just like the Catholic church, except that it’s his own daughters “Jim Bob” is victimizing.
The report is shown in the article.
Other bombshells in the police report are: 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 — who turned 14-years-old that month — had been touching her breasts and genitals while she slept. This allegedly happened on multiple occasions. 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.
Because “Jim Bob” is the only authority they recognize, presumably.
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.
So basically the parents had created a little harem of pubescent girls for their oldest son to molest. Generous.
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.
Because working in construction is well known to prevent men from sexually harassing or molesting women and girls.
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.”
That’s how it works with the Amish, too: forgiveness is all important so the victims are required to forgive the perp – while the perp is not required to stop perpetrating.
In Touch magazine broke the story of Josh Duggar’s dark past in the issue currently on sale. The magazine obtained the police report, hidden since 2006, through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Police had to abandon pursuing charges because the [then] three-year statute of limitations had expired.
The alleged victims all described a consistent scenario of Josh touching their breasts and genitals and later apologizing. They said Jim Bob was aware of the situation and did not go to authorities for more than a year.
And last night TLC ran a marathon of their tv show about these people.
The whole thing is just fucking disgusting.
There was no counseling involved. Josh was sent away for a while until things blew over. That’s all.
Remember, when God has forgiven you, you’re *completely* off the hook. No consequences! The victims are required to forgive, forgiveness means forgetting, and everything’s just hunky-dory. Unless some pesky meddling people who actually exist get wind of it – then all hell breaks loose. That’s why these Christians don’t want contact with the outside world – except to take its worldly money, of course.
OK. It’s a technicality and I don’t see why it was ever so short, but maybe the cops’ hands were tied.
On the sexual assault/abuse charges against Josh.
Is it not a crime to hide/cover up/fail to report such a crime though? Waren’t the patents and the church eldars guilty of doing this right up until the authorities were informed?
If nothing else, fear of such a prosecution might tip the balance on someone with similar knowledge coming forward promptly in future.
I’d like to know if the girls were offered or received any kind of counseling. “Forgive and forget” is fine for something superficial, but sexual abuse can have longterm consequences.
Of course the girls were not offered any assistance. In the fundy Christian patriarchal cult, girls and women are just walking uteruses. Whether they’re abused, suffering, attacked…it matters not. So long as the uterus is intact so they can make babies, that’s all that matters.
I think it’s a given that Josh’s sisters were forced to “forgive” him and did not receive any science-based counseling. It’s a terrible (unforgivable?) sin for a woman to withhold absolution that is owed to a man. Their cult also teaches that it’s the woman’s (girl’s) responsibility not to tempt the man. So, they were likely taught their molestation was their fault, and it was up to them to prevent subsequent violations.
Out of curiosity, I wonder if Richard Dawkins will defend Josh’s “mild touching up” of his sisters? After all, if you watch the show on TLC, all the girls who were molested by their brother over a decade ago now appear to be blissfully happy and don’t seem to have experienced any “lasting harm.”
Looks like the counselling might not be the most effective option.
I can’t help but wonder if the police investigators had the nerve to ask those girls whether they had ever agreed to “forgive and forget” anything involving their other brothers, their pastor, or their father.
This just makes me puke. The criminal, the felon, was sent away to remodel houses. The criminals, the felons, knew about a crime and did not report it, and did not cooperate with whatever pathetic investigation was attempted. The criminals, the felons got told about the crime, finally, and made close to no attempt at serious investigation, and did not prosecute.
The modest sheltered VICTIMS got forced to “forgive.” And the criminal apologized, probably hundreds of times.
This is a horror show. What century is this? What state? What laws? Who the fuck are TLC anyway?
I just want to scream.
It gives the title “19 Kids And Counting” a whole new meaning.
@1. Blanche Quizno & others here : “There was no counseling involved. Josh was sent away for a while until things blew over. That’s all.”
Um, not according to the info in the previous ‘Get the popcorn’ thread here.
Emphasis added.
I don’t know what sort of counselling it was and whether it was any good or not but apparently there was counselling for his victims as well as Josh Duggar.
Still horrific of course and why any channel would now run any screenings of their show let alone a marathon is indeed a good question and disgusting of them.
@10. From THIS thread: “Michelle Duggar later admitted to police that Josh did not receive counseling”
From http://www.etonline.com/news/165063_josh_duggar_molestation_allegations_a_timeline_of_events/ :
Apparently this was the only “counseling” provided:
OOPS!!!
@ ^ Blanche Quizno : Okay. Thanks.