In Touch Weekly broke the story about Josh Duggar, and in subsequent follow-up stories, they have been a model of restraint and journalistic ethics. I’m not saying that sarcastically. In Touch’s reporting throughout this ongoing horror show has been completely above-board. Kudos to them for following up on a tip, filing the appropriate FOIA requests and following through with their completely sourced reporting. In the wake of the Duggars’ profoundly disturbing Fox News interview, In Touch has done a rather epic companion piece defending their reporting and calling out all of the lies Jim-Bob and Michelle told throughout. You can read In Touch’s epic takedown here. Some highlights (I’m doing some major edits for space).
Jim Bob and Michelle lied about how much they cooperated with the Springfield PD during the 2006 investigation. The Duggars made it seem like they fully cooperated but the actual police report reveals “that Jim Bob refused to produce Josh for a police-requested interview and stopped cooperating with the probe.”
Mandatory reporters. That was Jim-Bob’s wording in the interview, that he and Michelle were “not mandatory reporters, the law allows parents to do what they think is best for their child,” thus they did nothing wrong when they did NOTHING while Josh molested girls and escalated over the course of a year. Except In Touch spoke to “multiple legal experts,” all of whom say that as parents, they were allowing a 14/15 year old to prey on minor children at least seven times over the course of a year, which constitutes felony child endangerment for, as Michelle termed it, “the other ones,” i.e. the victims of her predator son.
Jim Bob suggested that the Springdale police chief took a bribe. I’ll admit it, this part of the Duggars’ interview confused me because Megyn Kelly kept interrupting to push her nonsensical agenda. Jim-Bob basically said that Kathy O’Kelley, the Spingfield police chief, took a bribe from In Touch (or someone else?) to somehow get Josh’s records released. In Touch writes: “The records were obtained through Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act, which is one of the most liberal open records laws in the country, according to the state’s attorney general. In Touch has a paper trail that proves city attorneys reviewed the FOI request and approved the records’ release. Further, Jim Bob’s ‘bribe or personal agenda’ explanation for the records’ release loses all credibility in light of the fact that a SECOND police report detailing Josh’s crimes was obtained by In Touch magazine through FOIA. That second report comes from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Springdale police chief has no involvement in deciding if those records can be released.”
The FOIA-requested releases are not illegal. The Duggars continuously referred to the records as being “illegally released.” In Touch spoke to legal experts and worked with law enforcement and the AR Press Association to ensure that their FOIA requests were completely legal and above-board. A local lawyer in Little Rock tells In Touch that the agencies involved with the investigations into Josh Duggar’s crimes did not have a choice, “They had to release the reports. Those records are not closed under FOI. The alleged perpetrator had attained his majority at the time it was released, and once his name and all the victims’ names were blacked out, it was subject to FOI.”
Jim-Bob and Michelle did not address the other investigation. You know, the one conducted by the Department of Human Services. That investigation was kicked off when the police figured out that the statute of limitations had already (conveniently) passed. No one really knows what the Arkansas DHS discovered during the course of their investigation, only that Josh Duggar sued them afterwards.
I feel like… there’s still going to be more stuff to come out. I’m not talking about people commenting about this horror show after-the-fact, although that is definitely happening. I kind of think another shoe is going to drop. I wonder if that’s why the Duggars have kept Josh away from the media?
Here’s one more tragicomic thing: you know how Mike Huckabee stood up for a child molester and his enablers? Well, now Huckabee is quietly removing all signs of the Duggars from his campaign website. SO CHRISTIAN!!
Photos courtesy of Duggars’ social media, cover courtesy of In Touch.
Stick a fork in them, they are done…………………
They are yet another example of the typical hypocritical, bigoted, morally corrupt, bible-bashing republican. No wonder Sarah Palin threw up one of her nonsensical rants defending these creepy liars
IKR?????? She has the never to call Dunham a pedo put not Duggar. It’s so delicious to watch these sanctimonious hypocrites fall…………..
As we see them as hypocrites and criminals for letting their son abuse many kids, lots of blind “christians” see them as martyrs. It’s a kind of radicalism.
I think you’re right…they really do seem to be done. I can’t see coming back from this, especially if there is another show abou to fall.
yeah, most news outlets that covered the interview talked about how the public reaction was so strong that the Touching Little Children network will have to cancel, and likely not do spin-offs for the two daughters. one can only hope.
and I agree with Kaiser that there’s probably more to come.
If TLC decides to keep a spin-off, it should be centered on the oldest unmarried daughter. I can’t remember her name, but she seems to be the smartest and everyone treats her like Cinderella. The producers can give her the means to leave and call the show “Breaking Free. How I escaped Duggarland.”
I may be wrong, but that oldest one is in a position to rule all these compromised parties. She knows what went down in her childhood household, and she works in her brother’s household? She knows how the network is implicated and how her church treats women, girls and sexuality.? I’m thinking what she knows and could spill is pretty powerful.
I’m entertaining a fantasy that she grabs her (already packed) bags and goes AWOL and re-integrates with a more open society than her religious cult.
I don’t care much for Piers Morgan but is this was spot on;
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3111528/Piers-Morgan-19-disgusting-things-learned-Duggars-TV-interview-counting.html
Cheryl, that’s a valid point that I never thought about. Maybe that’s why she hasn’t been married off yet – imagine if she was out from under their control what and who she could tell about them!
And to think, it was all because of that Lesbian Agenda …
Kind of doubt it. Even if the main show is eventually cancelled wouldn’t be surprise if one of the daughters gets her own show or they go to another network. seriously have people defending these brainwashed subs on my FB. Doing the slight of hand of rehashing the Fox news vomit of “the media is just victimizing the girls” hence blame it on the liberals instead of Josh. There are too many people now defending them now for TLC to remove them completely off air. Hope Kaiser is right sadly, they may only be removed if more serious dirt comes out.
This story just continues to sicken me. Why hasn’t TLC cancelled the show already? What other horrible revelation are they waiting for, exactly?
I keep thinking that if Josh gets in front of a camera he will literally do a “tell all” since I think in his twisted mind “confessing” has made this all okay, given him forgiveness, brought him back to Jeebus, and so on.
He’s probably a loose cannon in that they worry he will admit every gory detail (probably things that weren’t in the police report and could have been much worse/longer/far-ranging, who knows). Once something like that is on camera (throw in a dash of “but their pajamas were so tight it was so tempting”) everything the Duggars have done PR-wise to date will look like a masterful plan. So if I had to guess, Josh Duggar is the other shoe.
Dude needs to understand. Just because he asked Jesus for forgiveness doesn’t mean there will be no repercussions.
What he did was wrong and so far he has deserved everything that has happened to him.
yes! I was thinking this too. they don’t want him talking because they know he won’t stick to the script.
I have always been bothered by the phrases “I asked Jesus for forgiveness” or “God has forgiven me” etc. First of all, HOW DO YOU KNOW GOD HAS ACTUALLY FORGIVEN YOU???!!! You don’t friggen know if he did, and even IF he did, that doesn’t absolve you from the bad things you’ve done!
@littlestar, I wish God would strike these men down with a bolt of lightening. It would be the ultimate “There! Fixed that for you!” in regards to their saying that they are forgiven.
I don’t believe the story when they said that Josh came to them (parents) about molesting his sisters and friends. I think one of his sisters told the parents. I just can’t see a child molester telling his parents “hey mom, dad I’ve been molesting my sisters and her friends.” He was found out and that’s why he stopped (if he has).
I’m not sure…maybe the Duggars have blackmail on execs? Waiting to see if police pursue litigation against the Duggars? Either way TLC is condoning this behavior by not canceling the show. This channel is banned from my house. I’m trying to look up all their sponsors to write to them.
Of course Huckabee is. I’m sure his campaign manager was like “you idiot! Quit applauding a child molester! No one is going to vote for you!”
And the Duggars are disgusting. I’m glad In Touch showed that they did everything on board and the Duggars have no legs to stand on at all.
Huckabee did more than applaud them. He was governor of Arkansas when the Duggars sued CHS. They wouldn’t have had grounds to sue unless that state agency found something wrong and there would be a judge’s decision on the case, which there isn’t, unless Huckabee settled the case.
Yeah I wonder if that’s the next shoe to drop.
Dislike the lot of them in including Huckabee. What is it with celebrities molesting their siblings? First Lena Dunham, now the Duggars.
I continue to find Lena Dunham disgusting. I do not at all excuse what she did either.
The Duggars are celebrities?
Huck’s done, too. but he realized too late that he shouldn’t be on the Duggar’s side.
Yeah I think he thought that if he kept saying Jesus and forgiveness people would have been blown away by his compassion.
Nah he was just appealing to the base, as usual.
oh, I agree with both of you…but I also think he underestimated the public’s response and, after this interview debacle, thought “oh, sh*t” (except he would say “oh, poopie”) “I probably shouldn’t have supported them so vehemently.”
Totally. Which is incredibly unsavvy for a guy that’s been in the game so long.
Kudos to In Touch (am I the only one noticing the irony that it’s *that* publication that broke *this* story?). These horrible people (Mike Huckabee included) care so much about children – until they’re born. And especially if they’re born female. If there’s one thing this story illustrates very clearly, it’s that.
… I get it. Wow! Kind of punny if the subject matter wasn’t so awful. ITW really has done a great job with all of this.
Oh blah. That’s so untrue. As one of ‘those’ people, I would thank you for not painting with such a broad brush.
What I hate is how polarizing this website can be. Democrats, Republicans, we would be well served to stop demonizing each other.
I agree, but you must admit that talking heads are making this a political issue. It’s difficult to untangle the political element since a lot of the right-side politicians used the Duggar’s ‘purity’ element and TV popularity as a method to catapult themselves with a certain segment of voters.
This is why there is so much pretzel logic being tossed at the story….because peripherally, they are tied to the story. They are protecting themselves.
So, would you disagree with the notion that the majority of Republicans are anti-abortion, pro-death penalty and anti-government assistance?
GiGi, you are completely missing my point here.
@KIDDO – pretzel logic. I love it!
I love this website when it is celebrity or royal gossip, the politicizing of this issue is hard to read.
I think it comes down to either you molest kids or you dont, not who you vote for. I would not ever vote for a democrat nor would I vote for Huckabee. I dont own a gun, I’m pro choice, and I believe in assistance. You can’t pigeon hole people into 1 group or the other.
@Kiddo, I agree with you. It really shouldn’t be a political issue but it doesn’t help that the Duggar’s aligned themselves with the far, far right. And spread such hypocritical views, including suggesting Trans people are child molesters waiting to pounce on their girls in public restrooms. As if they could talk.
@crumpet-If you want polarizing, I suggest you check out the comments section of just about any yahoo article. If the article is about any issue that concerns non-whites, non-Christians, and non-conservatives, you can bet there will be a million nasty, hateful, ignorant comments. Celebitchy ain’t nothing for polarizing compared to that.
WinterLady, it’s not who the Duggars aligned themselves with, but who used the Duggars to promote themselves with the very far right. There are variations of belief on the right, like there is on the left. There are people who are conservative fiscally, but don’t give a sh_t socially how people conduct their personal lives. Apparently, the very socially conservative religious voters consistently get out the vote, and so pandering to this subculture has become a mainstay. Which is unfortunate, because I personally don’t know anyone who is pro-Duggar, even if they are conservative.
The moderate Republicans have all but been drowned out by this noise.
@Crumpet – No, I got your point… I just disagree with you.
@Crumpet-You didn’t specify in your comment but I take it that you’re a Republican then?
Because these are the people who associate with the Republican party-people like Huckabee or Palin or O’Reilly the wife-beater or Rush Limbaugh the misogynist.
These people aren’t just celebrities who happen to be Republican, they are politicians and political commentators who directly represent the GOP. If you disagree with these people, then maybe you should renounce your allegiance to the Republican party platform. If you agree with them, then what exactly is the problem?
This is who the GOP is and has always been and it’s never made any effort to distance itself from people like O’Reilly, Gingrich, Limbaugh, Palin, Paul Ryan, Huckabee, etc. In fact, quite the opposite.
I guess I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just call yourself an Independent. We’re not so bad, you know? 😉
@Kitten
Great idea. I am going to start calling myself an Independent. I hate most Republicans and horrified by some of the stuff they say about gay people and women, but I am equally if not more disgusted by Democrats and the hypocrisy of their denouncing of the 1% while lining their pockets.
When you start calling yourself Independent though don’t most people think you are just a Republican in hiding?
I am also independent which is different from the Independent party.
@ Kiddo-you mean the AIP, American Independent Party?
Obviously I meant independent as in “nonpartisan”.
@KCarp-The Democratic party might be a different song than the Republican party but it’s still the same damn music.
I strongly dislike both parties TBH.
I knew what you meant okitt, part of my reply was to kcarp, and where the confusion lies with people thinking you are very ultra right when you say independent.
I am independent versus I am AN independent, which for some listeners means the independent party.
I’d just like to add that Pretzel Logic is a great album.
Crumpet: I was referring to only the people mentioned in my post (Duggars/Huckabee) in my comments about “these people only care….”
I can see how that wouldn’t be entirely clear, and I apologize for anything that would have led you to think otherwise. And Doofus, +1 on “Pretzel Logic.”
I think almost everyone on this website, while we all have our own beliefs and ideas, are pretty darned open-minded about things. Child abuse is child abuse, I don’t see how that is polarizing at all.
@Crumpet
I see the point everyone is making about the specific ties between the Duggars and Republicans, and they are valid, but I’m often saddened by the broad brush statements about Republicans on this site as well. I’m registered as a Democrat, but I’m really an independent voter who, frankly is nauseated at times by both parties equally, but my parents are Republican, and they are open minded, pro-choice and support gay marriage and equality. I think it’s a case of the loudest and stupidest getting the most attention, but people do assume things about them that are unfair and untrue.
Oh give me a friggen’ break non- whites are painted with a broad brush 24/7, welcome to that world, it kind of sucks thete. To top it off, there alway the ones who have to round up thw worst their own, whie we have the O’Reileys, palins and Duggars of the world front and center giving the world the brushes you don’t likw to painted with.
Maybe when so called real Christans send a message to these right-winged Tartuffes that they won’t stand for this crazy behavior then then people won’t start abandoning religion.
Well duh, all life is sacred until it has to be fed outside the womb or has lady bits /sarcasm
I couldn’t ever see myself getting an abortion, but I strongly believe in a woman’s right to a safe procedure.
Dirty Dancing guys. We need safe procedures.
I couldn’t have said it better.
Pro-life radicalism isn’t about valuing children. It’s about controlling women and their bodies.
Very true, most of what I have seen is just pro birth, then you are on your own
Yes, this is certainly not the end of this horror story, which means I need to go out and buy a bottle of whiskey.
I’m amazed by the fact that Jim Bob tried to complain about illegally released documents– how horrifying! But some children were molested? Eh, at least they were asleep. Eh, at least he didn’t rape one of them. I need to stop now, because I can feel some unhealthy anger rising in my chest as we speak.
The mental gymnastics these people are excercising are staggering.
It should be an Olympic sport. Like curling. Mental gymnastics: they’d win the gold.
Exactly, and they are trotting out the daughters like they are the ones in the wrong meanwhile Josh is being protected. He’s a 27 year old man, why isn’t he being interviewed? Why are the victims the ones that are being interviewed? Because they are seen as the ones in the wrong for being girls .. it disgusts me!
It really is driving me up the wall, too. I’m so disgusted and angry at the way this was handled by the Duggars (and I practically spit when I say their names) and how their disgusting behavior is being exploited, excused and supported by other people with their own agenda.
As for the girls being asleep – my sister was molested by my cousin when she was “asleep” and she was just too shocked and paralyzed to do anything so she pretended. He touched my breast once when I was asleep and I woke up and said what are you doing and he ran away. I seriously doubt they were really asleep. Not that that matters from a wrongdoing point of view, but as far as this excuse that they didn’t even know – I don’t believe that. I think they just didn’t know what to do.
I think there’s much more to this story than what’s been told. I feel like the true story of what actually happened has been whitewashed. This show needs to be done.
I think the reason more people aren’t horrified, and by more people I mean the victims and the duggar supporters, is principally to do with language used and being used by the Duggars. Eg it wasn’t molestation, it was bad touching. It wasn’t bad touching, it was a mistake. He wasn’t a fully functioning teenager, he was a ‘young’ teenager – the emphasise on ‘young’ makes people think he did this when he was a tween ie 10-13 and or that children that age don’t know right from wrong.
The initial response by the duggars, Josh and Anna included, made it seem like a one time, children are curious, type of deal. Or Josh curious with someone close to his own age.
The language employed by the duggars is especially unhelpful to the victims who can’t comprehend that what happened to them goes beyond ‘bad touching’. I wonder they don’t have nightmares. Someone fondling you in your sleep is my idea of a nightmare, even if you’ve been brainwashed into thinking it was merely ‘bad touching’.
I agree! Out of curiosity, I checked Fox’s Facebook page under the story. There are people in complete denial. One woman claimed Josh was “only 13 and was just experimenting with his 12 year old sister because BOTH their hormones were raging.” When someone pointed out that he repeatedly molested his 5 year old sister, she said, “There was no touching of a 5 year old!”
Others were flat out blaming the girls because they acted in a provocative manner and he couldn’t help himself. I could only read so much before my head was exploding.
Then there’s the “forgiveness” angle. He’s been “forgiven.” As though that excuses what happened. There are murderers on death row who have found God and been forgiven by the victims’ families and God. Do we let them out of prison because of it?
I think there are a lot of people who don’t get the outrage and think it’s because “liberals” are attacking a Christian family. The Duggars are attempting to play it that way. It’s the left, the liberals, the media and my personal favorite, the vast lesbian agenda who have caused this.
No. It’s a 15 year old who repeatedly molested his younger sisters and someone outside the family and was never dealt with properly, which means his own children could be at risk. Who’s protecting them?
Like others, I want to see the receipts of that legitimate counseling they all supposedly received.
I completely agree on the whitewashing. Molestation victims all too rarely share the full extent of what happened to them out of fear/shame. And especially considering all of the details shared seem to have come from Josh’s “tender conscience” confession. I too have a very hard time believing this is anywhere near the entire story.
I am also beyond sickened at Jim Bob and Michelle’s insistence in their interview that it’s not *that* bad because “they didn’t even know it happened.” What….
Not to mention the “at least he didn’t rape them”. Um, that doesn’t make it better. That’s like saying, “well he could have stabbed them to death and didn’t, and what’s a little touching compared to that?”
Thanks for the laugh Wren.
I agree, SmellyCat. I bet there were more victims, and over a longer timespan than are listed in the police report, and the parents might not even know about them. That’s why Josh wasn’t in on the Megan Kelly interview. I believe 100% he has probably talked to a criminal defense attorney who told him to keep his mouth shut regardless of what happens.
I shudder to think what other nasty things are still waiting to come out. As for In Touch they are making sure that the Duggars know if they decide to sue they got all their info legally. Maybe on some level TLC is just letting the Duggars dig (yes that is a pun and it stays) a deeper hole for themselves? So when they do cancel the show they can can say how shocked they are at all the revelations
You are giving TLC too much credit. They are riding the crest to see which way it falls. If enough people support the Duggars (like Duck Dynasty), they will put the show back on. If the tide seems to be against them after this series of interviews, they will cancel the show. No conscience or altruism there — it’s all about money.
I don’t usually write to networks but after watching the Duggar interview I contacted Discovery/TLC with a strongly worded letter demanding that they remove all past and future Duggar programming. I hope other Celebitchy people do the same.
Have done so, including the fact that I will boycott all sponsors advertising on all TLC shows.
I did too. And I’ve never done that before. However, this situation screams for it.
Is there any way that I can see a list of TLC’s sponsors?
Could someone post the contact info again? There are no emails, right? So I will to go the paper letter route?
Excellent! Thank you!
Here’s the link to their “Viewer Relations” page http://corporate.discovery.com/contact/viewer-relations/ where you can fill out a form to contact them. Just did so myself.
Thank you. Will do so right now.
i would encourage you to go beyond that. Where I live, TLC is a part of my cable package, so I have written my cable provider and asked them to drop TLC from their channel lineup. Until they do so, that channel will be blocked from viewing in my house.
I’ve recently taking it a step further. I dropped my cable package yesterday. I wrote them during the Honey BooBoo junk. Customer service called me back. I told them to either remove it from my package or i’m cancelling in full.
They told me to block the channel. I said I’d still be paying for it? And yes.
I couldn’t have been any more clear they lost a contract of the most expensive plan with many packages because they aired a channel that has on more than 1 occasion supports and funds child molesters.
Good for you, FLORC. Mad props.
Dropping your cable plan is brilliant, FLORC! I too did the same thing and we’ve never been happier. We bought a Roku to stream channels, and between Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime, we pay about $30 a month for great tv. Fight the power!
Some supporters will start to distance themselves once they realize it isn’t about Christianity, it’s about a crime that was committed and hidden.
It’s not about religion or politics. Unbelievable how some are spinning this. It’s about a crime and whether it was properly handled.
I agree that the main point to be taken away from this is that children were victimized, but I completely disagree that politics and religion are not important players in this story.
Josh Duggar was executive director of the Family Research Counsel, an American conservative Christian group and lobbying organization. Josh held a political position and was pursuing a political career.
When a politician goes through a very public scandal, it is inevitable that their politics will be forefront and center, and under a microscope. It might be unfair but that’s the way it works in the political world.
As far as it not being about religion. Wrong. Sorry, but if this scandal involved the Church of Scientology, then there would be comments about Xenu and Thetans all over this board. The Quiverful religion is akin to CO$ in it’s cult-like qualities. To pretend that these women being shamed into silence and treated like temptresses while their perpetrator was protected and shielded had nothing to do with their religion is akin to sticking your head in the sand.
Let’s not forget that the Duggars became famous because of their religion and lifestyle, and that will forever be a part of their identity and public persona.
I think it’s crucial that we focus on the victims and what they’re going through. 100% agree with you there. But I think it’s equally important to acknowledge that their Evangelical conservative beliefs helped to create an environment that allowed for this to happen to these girls by essentially sanctioning Josh’s behavior.
Smart analysis, Kitten. ITA that you can’t separate the toxic Quiverful-cult environment from what happened and the way it was handled. Had it come out that the eldest child of any ‘normal’ celebrity had molested his younger siblings, I’d like to believe the parents would do everything they could for the privacy, healing and wellbeing of the children who had been victimized, while loving the child who committed the acts by getting him extensive professional help as quickly as possible. In this case, however, the perpetrator has been shielded, has never been held responsible for his actions, and has let everyone–including the sisters he victimized– defend him while he is nowhere to be found. Those sisters have been forced to wallow in their own unwarranted shame in a very public way. Brothers are supposed to be protectors, but their brother betrayed them in the worst way possible, and they’ve been forced to defend him on national television. All of this is in line with their religious beliefs: men are untouchable and worthy of protection, women are subservient incubators who aren’t valuable enough to deserve justice when they’ve been violated. You can’t have one without the other, in this case.
“men are untouchable and worthy of protection, women are subservient incubators who aren’t valuable enough to deserve justice when they’ve been violated”
Exactly Shambles. This is one of those instances where belief system and subsequent behavior are inexorably linked.
What you said about brothers as protectors really resonated with me and put a pit in my stomach. My big bro was (and still is) my idol for my whole life. He’s just a great person–intelligent, witty, loyal, protective, supportive, caring, and extremely moral with a strong sense of right/wrong. I cannot imagine him ever betraying me like that. Sigh. Those poor girls 🙁
I need to clarify that my brief comment reflects my frustration over the forgiveness / we are being persecuted because we are conservative argument.
Getting into all the other layers of this mess is certainly justifiable, yet it is frustrating me how the core abuse and the true victims are becoming side notes in the narrative from the parents and their defenders.
I have said this before — I think this movement or whatever it is would make an explosive documentary (just like CoS). But I am just incredibly tired of the(ir) excuses and things they are hiding behind. My comment was admittedly broad based and I get what you are saying.
What I don’t get are the defenders who blame a full moon, religion, politics, or too many hair spray fumes for unacceptable actions.
@ Christin-“I need to clarify that my brief comment reflects my frustration over the forgiveness / we are being persecuted because we are conservative argument.”
I thought about that after I replied to you–that your comment might have been about using religious persecution as a way to play martyr and deflect. My apologies for misconstruing your words.
FTR, I think it’s disgusting for people on either side of the political aisle to exploit this tragedy to suit their agenda. I’m certain there are lefty atheists who are bordering on gleeful at the public take-down of this family as well as religious conservatives who feel this family is being unfairly targeted by the “Librul Media”.
That sh*t is absolutely a distraction from the very serious issues at hand and people who are politicizing this to make a point about who’s political party/religion/lack of religion is better should be ashamed.
That being said, it’s very important that the “fringe” issues arising from this incident are openly discussed, including this dangerous cult that seems to encourage the mistreatment of women.
It’s really not religion in a sane sense. Or politics. It’s a group of people that willingly live a lifestyle and have beliefs. Religion and politics are blankets they wrap themselves in to feel justified in their opinions.
Their actions have little to do with faith and more about their power on earth. Their comfort. Not living as Christians.
Core teachings. We are not perfect. We make mistakes. If you are truly sorry you make it right by being honest.
It might be religion by technical wording, but not christianity by practice and not for the reasons to simply be good to eachother.
Sadly, religion has been corrupted so anyone can take a portion of the bible into literal sense, claim they believe in god, and dictate to others how to live.
Kitten, no apology needed (but thanks). My comment could have been worded much better.
The many layers and deflections are making me nutty. I did some volunteer project work for a center dealing with child abuse and the things I learned have stayed with me (and it was just statistics and generalizations, which were impactful enough). I am tunnel visioned to those girls as victims who seemingly did not receive the benefit of proper reporting and treatment.
And for the record, you are absolutely on point about all the other stuff that needs to be called out. On another thread, the molestation manual is quoted, which makes me want to barf. Just a reminder that the spotlight does need to shine brightly on this bigger set of issues.
I am just frustrated that anyone gives them a pass because they are this or that (be it religion or politics).
Melissa, just to clarify — I hope, as you do, that more people will wake up and look at this situation past the scope of Christianity. In no way do I mean to disagree with your comment. I am admittedly frustrated by the defenders/deflecting topics, that is all.
Is there cause for CPS to investigate Josh Duggar’s home and kids?
Sadly, no.
Are there still young girls living in the Duggar home? I don’t watch the show and I don ‘t know when her uterus finally went up to heaven.
The four youngest are girls, aged 5,6,7,9. There’s also a seventeen year old (who would be the five year old victim in the police report),
I never thought I’d be saying this but, good job In Touch. Who’d of though?
I hope they keep digging and other publications join in as well. This family/ cult is disgusting and as unChristian as it gets IMO. They truly give law-abiding Christians a bad name.
I have a really nasty feeling that something in this story will explain why they treat the oldest daughter the way they do.
Now that you mention it, it seems obvious.
I’ve never watched the show-how do they treat the eldest daughter? Is it very different how they treat the younger ones? From what I’ve been able to gather, the eldest daughter wasn’t molested, but it was the next four? (I can’t keep the names straight, and I don’t know who is who). But I think I did read that Josh had called the oldest daughter a tattle-tale at some point.
The eldest is Jana. She does a majority of the housework/babysitting at the Duggar home. I really think she’s more of a mother to the younger children than Michelle is. A lot of people online have dubbed her Cinderjana.
Jill is the second oldest, one of the victims, and the one called a tattletale by Josh.
I just remember the eldest daughter was the one that did all the work. When suspicions began to be raised about her never getting married while the other ones were, they trotted out Tim Tebow for about 2 weeks. His agent said that while they met, he never sought “courtship” with her which is not surprising considering a) he was still in football at the time and b) Qiverf*cks don’t marry outside of their cult.
(Also “rumor” c) the whole “Tebow’s a virgin thing” is a sham. Which after being in Gainesville while he played and going to the same parties…yeah *cough*. About that)
I agree something is going on with Jana.
It’s awful to say, but one wonders what the Duggars would do with a daughter whose chastity had been forceably taken? Might they never seek a courtship for her and put her to work as the family nanny and maid, for example?
@ MonicaQ – Is that why they call it “Gainesville” because that’s where the boys go to gain experience? 😉
@Lucky Charm Only if they studied. Some skipped class and swore they were Honor Students 😉
I actually can’t help but wonder if Jana is maybe gay, and that’s why she’s never accepted courtship (as the story supposedly goes, but who can believe the stories they put out?).
I really hope she escapes with her independence one way or another.
Jana has been set up as the old maid who’ll raise all her younger siblings, by which time she’ll be too old for marriage with kids of her own. Then she’ll have the privilege of caring for her old parents. Michelle neither can nor will care for such a big family. The younger daughters know this, and sadly treat Jana worse for it .
I don’t know if any of this means that Jana has been abused more than the rest, it’s not a given thing.
I’m waiting for more victims to come out of the woodwork. I don’t believe for a second that there were 5 and then he just stopped – that’s accirding to someone who can’t even take responsibility for his crimes. I just ain’t buying it.
I’m not buying it either. Not for one second. A friend works on cases involving people adjudicated “sexually dangerous” to keep them in prison. What we know of Josh’s story depicts a classic pedophile: multiple victims over multiple years, including victims outside the family. And he’s met none of the criteria that a state would use to determine he was save to return to life outside a controlled facility.
When this story first broke, I was woefully uneducated and did some reading, which I do not intend to do again, but I believe that there is a threshold of age whereby the DX of pedophile can be made. (I mean this in regard to perpetrator, not just the victims). I’m not sure if 14 would qualify for that designation.
It’s strange that when this story broke ‘Josh was 17’ at the time of the assaults, then 15, now 14.
12-14 is when it usually starts and if it continues afterwards, then the person definitely meets the diagnosis. And he was older when he attacked the five year old.
According to the conservatives he was a curious “child,” so yeah, the age will get lower and lower with each re-telling.
Thanks lilac, I feel like this story has changed a few times. After reading the pages on pedophilia, I felt sick and needed a shower.
Someone replied to me on yesterday’s thread to say that it wasn’t a form of child abuse if the *perp* is a child.
So I guess a teenager can just molest or beat up another child and that’s really not abusing the child victim(?????).
I have never heard some of the twisted logic attempts to deflect from what this is.
@Christin-I remember that. They said it’s called “sexually reactive” or something like that. Never heard that term before.
Christin
That was out during the Lena threads too. More that 1 child can experiment with another young child out of healthy curiosity. And in both Josh and Lena’s cases compulsion was used. Lena/Candy or bribes. Josh built in sense of superiority laid by their parents.
I agree it happens and it’s not an indicator of deviant nature. It does have to be addressed and dealt with though.
@ Kiddo – He had just turned 14 when the abuses first started, and continued until he was 15. By the time police were notified by Oprah’s staff, he was 18 going on 19.
According to the Duggars themselves, in the police report, Josh started with the abuse when he was 14 yrs old and carried on for 16 months, which must have put him fairly close to 16. Convenient that the abuse supposedly stopped when he would have been clinically termed a pedophile at 16, if he had continued? Oh yeah. Just like it was convenient that Jim Bob only spoke to the police a few years later, when the crimes could no longer lead to sentencing because they were expired. Someone has talked to a lawyer or ten!
Kaiser, I agree! Where’s Josh? This is about taking down josh, not the whole clan. He has political aspirations, and I believe this was motivated by someone who wants to take him down!
This isn’t about “taking down” anyone. This is about exposing a dangerous cult that abuses children and especially females and the hypocracy of their public image.
The person originally reporting on this was already openly discussing the issue in forums back in 2006 or 2007. That no one followed thru with an investigation is not her fault. I am glad they have done it even if it is late. I loathe hypocrites.
This was motivated by Josh Duggar’s lust for his own underage sisters. The family itself admits it, in their way. Why should it not be spoken of?
Take these people off TLC!! I’m boycotting the entire channel now. After watching the Jim-bob/Michelle interview I’m beyond disgusted at their terminology regarding the molestations!! Apparently THEY, as parents, are the real victims because their poor 14/15 year old ‘little kid’ loved touching his little sisters…but don’t worry, it’s OKAY because the 5 year old was ‘asleep’ while it happened. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! Why did these girls do the interview and Josh is not?? Why do the parents continue to exploit the real victims?
There should NEVER be a statue of limitations involving any sort of sexual assault. It’s not like when the time ruins out, the victims are magically freed?!?! So, why would the predators magically get a free pass? HORRIBLE. THIS IS WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE!!
Also, It hurts to see them drop the word Christian in this whole mess!! Please stop.
Shoot, the entire Discovery branch needs a boycott. Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, American Heroes Channel—I’m sad that I’m missing my WWII documentaries but I will not contribute to their viewership in anyway.
@MonicaQ
*sigh* me too. The only one I watched was ID…and lemmie tell ya, I’m an “ID addict” as they say, but haven’t watched since they only pulled 19KAC instead of cancelling it…..and hubby really misses AHC but we will not go back to watching unless or until they cancel that family.
OWN should threaten to pull out of the “Discovery Family”. They would cancel in a HEARTBEAT! Someone call Oprah!!!
I didn’t realize how many channels fell under them! Looks like I’m leaving my TV off until this show is officially canceled!!! Also, HOW DO I WRITE AN EMAIL to let TLC know what I think?!?!?! I saw some people up thread mention they did, and I want to join. I have never done anything like this but I’m so disgusted with them after the interview, and want to help!!!
I’ve always wondered who watches all those WWII docs. They’ve made at least a million of them! You must know absolutely everything about the subject at this point.
@meh My husband rolls his eyes and calls it “Germany Super Saturday” any time I beat him to the TV on weekends and it’s not college football season. I mean there’s so many different ones! It helps when you’r a history teacher—I just have to be so careful as to say *just* enough about 1933 and up Germany to not look like a walking anachronism to my students.
Good.
I’m so glad In Touch and the media isn’t letting this family spin their lies. Keep the pressure up guys, this family is a plague and they need to shown for the disgusting actions they’ve done in the past.
Agree! I’m loving that In Touch isn’t backing down. Also? Loving that their waiting to go to the police is biting them in the ass, hard. Because they waited until Josh was 18, the docs weren’t sealed. It’s karma for not handling this when it happened.
I used to just glance at their magazine’s headlines and never took them very seriously as a media source. Until now….
And People and US Weekly being the secondary mags having the use other source for information. They deserve that and more for giving this awful family a platform for so many years. Heads and going to roll and people will get fired.
Unfortunately, we are living in a country where a depressing number of people continue to believe that the president is not an American citizen and that Iraq was involved in 9/11, so the type of people that follow these goons aren’t likely to change their minds about a police conspiracy or the legality of the records because even if you placed a pile of incontrovertible proof in front of them, they would still insist that it was a hoax being perpetuated by Christian hating gay people trying to push a liberal agenda.
Also, the fact the TLC refuses to comment or agree to cancel this show is infuriating. I think it pretty much shows how complicit they’ve been in this whole disgusting nightmare.
My father calls it “the least common denominator” syndrome. As in, we are no longer a nation of excellence, but have lowered our aspirations, beliefs and standards to that of the least common denominator.
I’m totally on board with your dad, Melissa! The primary concern with so many people these days is “what is the least I can get away with?” rather than “what’s the most I can achieve?”
People like the Duggars will always be the first to judge harshly of others and point their nasty fingers so no one will look in their backyard.
Their phone campaign against the LGBT community should have been enough for TLC to drop their show.
Although I am thrilled to see them exposed for the phonies that they are and see them come down ten notches, I am horrified for the victims. Not only were they not protected by their own parents, but they were forced to hide this from millions of viewers. There are not many things sicker than that.
The entire takedown is awesome, read the whole thing, y’all.
Someone on Gawker said maybe the reason Josh so quickly and readily admitted to these crimes is that there’s something actually worse they don’t want to get out. My theory involves the oldest daughter. It’s REALLY strange that they haven’t arranged a marriage for her, but they have for the next two younger daughters. I used to think it was just because she’s raising the younger ones, but there are other girls to do that. They would definitely have married their oldest daughter off first, or even second. So what’s up with that? If another daughter gets married in the next couple of years, and it’s not her, then definitely something is wrong there.
Well as gross as this is, their particular flavor of religion thinks that a girl(woman) who isn’t a virgin till marriage is damaged goods. It’s possible that they won’t “allow” her to marry because she’s damaged goods, even if through no fault of her own. I can’t even begin to express my disgust if that’s true, but it would make sense within the parameters of their screwed up beliefs. It’s very unusual that the oldest daughter wouldn’t have been married off first or by now
I agree, sadly, with everything you wrote.
InTouch are not finished with this family yet. They have more info to spill and will have saved the more shocking revelations until the last. They will be seeing how it all pans out first. Having worked in publishing for several years I know how editorial teams work with their big stories like this.
There is more to this than is currently in the public domain.
I hope you’re right!
I hope Betti is NOT right about Josh having more victims or committing more serious crimes. Or that his parents paid off other victims to keep their TLC money flowing.
But I suspect Betti is probably right. And quite honestly, my heart breaks for those victims and for what they have endured and will suffer. The Duggars have already shown that they and their supporters will viciously and repeatedly target anyone whom they perceive as enemies. If they do come forward, any unknown victims out there had better be prepared.
Sadly i think it may have something to do with the oldest girl, Jana (as other’s here have pointed out). I also think he went beyond ‘touching’ and thats why those beings (they don’t deserve to be called parents) did something about it. I don’t want to use the ‘r’ word but it might have been something close to it. His behaviour escalated quite quickly over a period of 1 year – from over the clothes to under the clothes (Jim-Bob practically admitted this) so who really knows if that’s is where it stopped.
Given how desperate they are to emphasis it’s ‘only touching’ its clear they are hoping that nothing else has been obtained by the ‘liberal media’. This is a family with many skeletons in the closet.
Also the dimwits shot themselves in the foot with when they waited until the statue of limitations was up to report it – when they did it meant the peado wasn’t a minor any more and the records couldn’t be sealed by the courts. He was legally an adult so they couldn’t get the police report sealed if they tried.
I don’t watch this show. I don’t even live in the US. I was once visiting my cousin who has a different cable set up that I do and came across an episode while flicking channels and watched it in horror. (They were visiting a creationist museum, it was tragic.) So basically all I know about this family and the show is what I’ve gleamed from reading articles on sites like this over the past few years.
Anyway, I have a question (question is probably the wrong word.) But, from what I’ve gathered from reading about them is that there’s daughter who is basically forced to stay at home and be a nanny to the younger siblings, her parents have never arranged a marriage for her which I think a lot of people found strange because why isn’t she married and popping out soldiers for the church? Is this daughter one of the victims? And if so, could that be why she has never been married? Could her parents consider her unfit for marriage because of what her brother did to her? Could it be that her brother’s molestation went further with her than it did with his other victims?
That’s Jana. She’s 25. She and her twin, John-David, are single and not in a “courtship.” Yet there’s an 18 year old boy in a courtship now (as of last month).
So yes, it is very strange, and I have your same fears. I don’t think it’s just about being a nanny. There are other girls old enough to do that, and the youngest child is 5 1/2, not a baby.
One option is that the parents need a stable father/mother figure at home to care for all the rest of the children they have, while they fly around doing interviews and promoting their show/politics/lifestyle.
Of course they’d also be in charge of keep everyone in line, do not let them hug or sit on brothers’ laps, or hold hands, oh, and f course home-schooling them.
I do not think Michelle and J-bum are totally hands-on parents. I think they are somehow still trying for miracle baby # 20.
I think that Jbow secretly wants a still fertile wife. They are sad all over. Instead of living in this circus, they should retire their show and give their time and attention to the rest of their many children and forget their illusions of political grandeur.
Sadly, I wonder if there is a bigger, even worse situation yet to be revealed. And the daughter being held back is suspicious. My theory mirrors yours — that perhaps the V test couldn’t be passed on the wedding night. Because we know that has to be a huge requirement, given the strict ban on physical contact during courtship.
I really, really hope that’s not the reason. From what I’ve seen, one of the daughters (Jill) was set up with her husband through Jim Boob. Jessa’s husband caught her eye and approached Jim Boob about courting.
It’s possible that so far no man has satisfied Jim Boob’s requirements, but I think the parents want to keep Jana at home because of how much work she does. There are still plenty of young kids to homeschool and take care of, not to mention that Jana is often used to babysit Josh’s kids and act as the family seamstress for weddings.
I hope your theory is correct — that she is merely the compliant,
reliable worker of the family. And don’t get me wrong — that is an issue as well.
Jim Boob? LMAO
Mama Duggar referred to her victimized daughters as “the other ones”. Trying to get past that. Can’t. How hurtful is that to them? There really is zero respect for girls/women as far as these people go. Between being molested and having to pump out baby after baby until their wombs are screaming for them to please stop, it’s clear what they think a females role in the world should be. Incredible.
How TLC could even consider keeping this cast of perverts on TV is absolutely incredible. And there’s a reason Josh hasn’t been heard from- my guess is that’s the next bomb to go off. And I so wish they would sue- for sure those deposition transcripts would be leaked, and the In Touch attorneys would definitely dig a lot harder than this Faux News interviewer did.
I believe this is just the beginning of every sick skeleton that is going to fall out of the Duggar closet.
This self righteous holier than thou family makes me want to vomit. Get them off tv now.
I’ve never liked these two, their smiles give me creep.I’ve never liked their supposed religion and I really despise the fact they do have their own show. So all I have to say is GO AWAY.
Well, on a happier note, it has been two weeks today since I quit smoking.
Congrats!
Keep going!
good for you! it gets easier…stick with it, your body will thank you and you’ll feel better every day.
Way to go!! Good for you, that is a great accomplishment. It gets easier! (11 years smoke free…)
This made me smile, which I didn’t think was possible while reading about the vile Duggars. Good for you and congrats!
Congrats to you! One of the best and most loving things you will ever do for yourself. (10 years this Sept. for me.)
Congratulations!!! I found the first year was the hardest, but after that it became much easier. (13 years in October for me.) You have a big support group here. I’ve found the ladies (and gentlemen) for the most part on here are a pretty awesome group of people.
I truly wonder about Josh Duggar’s wife. I’d be freaking out. Questioning my kids to see if he’s assaulted them definitely seeking divorce. Is she just going to keep popping out potential victims for her husband or is she going to GTFO?!!!!
Well, according to them, Josh tearfully confessed to her and her parents during their courtship and was forgiven. Barf. How much would anyone bet that their children are not safe??
Ugh. Gotta wonder about a woman who continues a relationship with a man who admits to molesting young girls including his own sisters. Proves he’s an opportunistic predator and will most likely do the same to his own kids. Vomitous.
One doesn’t even have to bet. Their children are not safe. It’s sickening.
Sadly, she may not have much of a choice except to stay. Growing up in the Quiverf*(^ cult, she is woefully undereducated, unemployed, and unlikely to have much real life experience. She literally moved out of her parents’ home and straight into her marital one. Then she promptly popped out three kids (all preschool age) and is pregnant with a fourth. She probably has no money of her own and may not even know anyone who could or would take her and the children in temporarily. If she does leave him, she would almost certainly be shunned by her biological family AND face a long and expensive divorce and custody battle that she will be ill-prepared to fight. No matter how much she might want to leave, I can well imagine how overwhelmed she might feel about trying to start over and rebuild her life. In her case, the devil she knows may be easier to accept than the unknown.
I’m wondering who molested Josh. Maybe that’s the other shoe.
This. Sex abuse is usually a cycle. Maybe that’s why Jim Bob wanted such a large family.
You know what? When I did some research, I found that that can and does happen, but that pedophilia can emerge without prior abuse.
True, but the way Jim Bob body-polices his daughters in addition to the ‘purity’/husband choosing/indentured servant/micro-managing thing makes me wonder if the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…
Sick bastards
Just had a horrifying thought about this. What if the horrible secret worse than this is that josh fathered a kid following a rape. I’m glad the timeline doesn’t really allow for that, I hope, because it’s just too horrible for words.
In Touch is going to milk this disgusting story until the wheels fall off. What else do they have? They got lucky this time around to have a factual story.
No they did their homework which is surprising considering the source.
I don’t know if any of you have heard of Dr. Lillian Glass, she studies body language and has some interesting thoughts on the Duggars as a whole. I for one think the entire family need professional help as does she.
Thank you for the Dr. Glass tip! Just read her analysis of the Duggar interview on her blog and it was very interesting.
You guys have a link? Google on my phone won’t load up today. grrrr.
A bit late, but here you go: https://drlillianglassbodylanguageblog.wordpress.com/
I’m very torn about this whole Duggar situation.
While I am glad that Josh Duggar was outed for his crimes, and now the world sees exactly the kind of crappy parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are, I can’t help but feel so incredibly sad for the girls, not only because of the way they were victimized by their brother (and parents), but now with the fact that the entire world knows about it.
I am a victim of molestation myself. I would be utterly horrified to have it made publicly known about what happened to me as a child. I’ve only told my closest of friends, and even then, I don’t like talking about it. I can’t imagine what those women will go through now that everyone knows about it.
Will their inner-circle of Christian Fundies ostrasize them? Will they be forever looked upon as “damaged goods”? Jill and Jessa are probably “lucky” to have already found themselves husbands (because heaven knows, that’s what’s expected of the Duggar girls) but what about the other (probable) victims?
This whole situation is just awful and this show needs to be off the air. There is more I’m sure and I just feel sick about the whole thing!
I can’t stand them, the way Jim-Bob is always touching Michelle. It’s not normal, why does he always to have his hands on her ? .. It’s creepy and tells me that they are in an abusive relationship. He has to let her know that he always there.
One recap I read described her as constantly looking to him, as if to make sure she delivered her lines to his satisfaction. I think the writer described it as acting like a puppy seeking a treat, and they had a suitable screen shot of her looking at him all pleading-like.
It was bizarre how much she kept looking at him to answer unless she was going off on a liberal agenda rant.
It’s good to see In Touch firing back and showing that they’ve covered their bases. In the Megyn Kelly interview, a frequent talking point was that the information was retrieved illegally – obviously it wasn’t. As for the victims, their parents chose to trot them out on national TV to defend their molester. Disgusting.
Michelle Duggar’s baby-girl voice made me ill. Did she really think that her wide eyed performance would make us forget that she allowed a sexual predator in her home? They want us to believe that their poor beleaguered son is a victim of liberal media with an agenda, and ignore the true victims. Boycott TLC!!!
I swear her voice has gotten higher and more babyish over the years. Watch an old clip of the show. It’s still high, but not like now.
I read Huckabee’s PR guy coached them. What is his involvement? He has a hand in the cult and I read that the state sends prisoners thru it or something
Bill Gothard, an Illinois-based advocate for home schooling and conservative dress who warned against rock music and debt, has been placed on administrative leave after allegations of sexually harassing women who worked at his ministry and failing to report child abuse cases.
Gothard’s Institute in Basic Life Principles was once a popular gathering spot for thousands of Christian families, including the Duggar family from TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting.” Gothard’s Advanced Training Institute conferences were also popular among devotees of the Quiverfull movement, who promote large families and eschew birth control.
He’s also rubbed shoulders with Republican luminaries. He and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee were photographed at a campaign lunch together; former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue spoke at one of Gothard’s conferences; and Sarah Palin, when she was a small town mayor in Alaska, attended his International Association of Character Cities conferences and declared Wasilla among Gothard’s “Cities of Character.”
The both came across as very ignorant, uneducated and downright dumb IMHO
If you have 19 kids, how *can* you protect them all?
I’m sure you can’t, not really, and especially not if you’re relying on the older children to help parent the younger ones.
That said, if you know some of them are being targeted by a predator, you can do more than the Duggars did.
Josh was 18 when the police report was done in 12/2006,so he was not a juvenile therefore it didn’t have to be sealed.If the report was done in 2003 when the state trooper / Jim Bob’s buddy gave him a stern talk it would have been sealed.
yup, the fact that they waited to report in order to cover their butts was their undoing as far as the FOIA request goes.
guess God didn’t forgive them after all…
Another interesting angle…until the investigation was closed due to the statute of limitations already having run out, the police had no idea if they would uncover evidence that Josh had committed offenses as a minor AND an adult. It was disingenuous for the Duggars to say in their interview that his “juvenile” records were released or that they thought his “juvenile” records would be sealed. The police were investigating an ADULT in 2006, not a juvenile.
Jimbob + Michelle = FAILURE to protect!
I am all Duggared out.
Sorry, bad joke. This whole thing is just so tragic and depressing.
Actually, can we talk about “the babysitter” for a second here? Josh is the oldest, and at 14, he molested a babysitter? Why would he have a babysitter at 14 or 15? Is this someone they brought in to care for the younger ones? Again, wasn’t that Jana’s job?
Something is not adding up there.
Wondered the same thing.
In 2002 and 2003 was Jana taking care of the kids? This was years before they were on tv ,maybe at that time they had outside help.
While I was listening, I noticed they referenced the victims as “the others” instead of “the girls”. It’s an awkward word choice which is why I noticed it. Were some of Josh’s victims boys? Is everybody just assuming they were all girls? None of the sons were involved?
All we know is what they told the police .They aren’t exactly honest.
I read the police report, and one of the victims mentioned that they liked to work on cars, things like that. I thought that was strange, considering how they usually follow traditional gender roles. I can’t imagine one of their daughters working on the car when there was a house to clean, meals to prepare and children to take care of.
See Duggars! This is what happens when you fail to report abuse and/or cover it up!
http://nyti.ms/1RQcKmT
This case has reopened and extended the statute of limitations!
Everyone has to read this first person account of the ATI teachings that the Duggars are associated with. This was a woman raised in it. Wow is all I have to say. And before TLC, the Duggars were are squished into a tiny home. Like this person says, most of these families have a lot of kids and they are crammed into even mobile homes with threadbare garments and poor nutrition, not living in a massive 7,000 square foot home like the Duggars now have thanks to TLC. She talks about the submissiveness being taught to young girls and the molestation that does occur within families.
This really jumped out at me. “Despite this fascination with Michelle’s fertility, there is a critical question that no one ever seems to be ask on camera: just how fragile is the boundary between the loss of a woman’s reproductive control over her body and the loss of her sexual control over her body? From my experience in the ATI culture, it is very, very slim. A cornerstone belief of ATI is that God appoints husbands in an “umbrella of authority” over their wives, who are mandated by God to obey their husbands completely. That includes absolute sexual and reproductive submission. The inevitable result of such a demand is the tacit sanctioning of spousal rape — if a woman’s body belongs to God and to her husband before it belongs to her, then her consent becomes irrelevant.
“Women aren’t allowed ownership of their thoughts, either. At annual ATI conferences, married women are separated from everyone else and asked if they are having thoughts about using birth control, or if they feel resentment about having so many children. Answer “yes” to this and someone might tell you that those thoughts come from demons whispering into their ears. Many women in our church looked slumped over from constant exhaustion.”
http://www.salon.com/2015/05/28/i_couldve_been_a_duggar_wife_i_grew_up_in_the_same_church_and_the_abuse_scandal_doesnt_shock_me/
The first thing that bothered me about these people is that they seem almost hypersexual in their extreme attempts to stay pure. Most people don’t have to work so hard to avoid sexual temptation. Maybe this happened after they found out Josh was abusing his sisters, but I believe they were already following Gothard before it happened and their behavior seems to line up with his philosophy.
The other thing that I noticed before all of this happened is that Jim Bob seems to be a dishonest person. He might not come out and blatantly lie, but his statements are non-responsive or he admits to part of the truth while avoiding the whole truth. He kept jumping between legal definitions and his own views to come up with a less condemning statement. He kept breaking in when Michelle started talking and I believe it is because he knows he can avoid the truth better than she can. In the police report he continued to try and make it seem that Josh was in real treatment rather than working for a friend. Michelle admitted the truth. Jim Bob was just creepy on the show when his daughters were getting married. Michelle has stated that she didn’t realize how visually stimulated men were, I assume Jim Bob told her this. It might be true, there seem to be a lot more magazines aimed at men, but that doesn’t mean it’s the woman’s responsibility to avoid tempting them. In the rest of the world most men are capable of seeing sexually attractive people/pictures without losing control of themselves
I feel so strongly that one of the victims was a BOY and this is what the Duggars are absolutely afraid of the public finding out. There are some things in the police report that hint that one of the victims was male. Just my 2 cents.
Although inappropriate, you cannot compare Lena’s situation to the Duggars. She was much younger and the experience seemed to be motivated by couriosity rather than sexual desire. Josh’s experience was very clearly sexually motivated.
I just read the following information. I wonder if anyone can confirm it or shed more light on it, but I do think they’re reluctant to mention Gothard’s name because of the sex scandal he’s currently in:
“What bothers me most about the Duggars’ involvement with Gothard and IBLP is their use of his “re-education” camps (my term). When Josh Duggar was showing some signs of being “rebellious” years ago, they sent him to Gothard’s military boot camp for young men, the ALERT Academy. He returned much subdued. They’ve done the same with some of the girls, sending them to Gothard’s Journey to the Heart programs, where they are reminded of how wicked and sinful they are and told again and again that following God means obeying their earthly parents.”
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nolongerquivering/2012/02/carefully-scripted-lives-the-real-reality-of-the-duggar-family-blessings/
More disturbing information. Apparently, the Journey to the Heart is where most of Gothard’s sexual abuse occurred. Here’s a quote from another website, where there’s also a picture of Jill and Jana Duggar at a retreat in 2012:
“In the newly released memoir Growing Up Duggar, the four eldest daughters even promoted ATI and IBLP programs. They specifically spoke about the Journey to the Heart retreat — which begins at the IBLP headquarters in Illinois and takes the young women to the Northwoods Conference Center in Michigan where Recovering Grace says “most of the sexual misconduct occurred.” The Duggar girls now serve as retreat leaders.”
There are more details about Gothard’s abuse at the website (I skipped a lot of it.)
http://shoebat.com/2014/09/17/cult-bill-gothard-duggars-homeschooling-cults-exposed/
And that’s not to mention their relationship with Doug Phillips – founder of Vision Forum, yet another one of these patriarchal homeschool cults – who has his own sex scandal after a nanny accused him of using her as his “personal sex object.” The Duggars removed any mention of his name from their website after the allegations.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2014/04/doug-phillips-the-rest-of-the-story.html
http://www.christianpost.com/news/woman-files-lawsuit-accusing-vision-forum-founder-doug-phillips-of-treating-her-as-personal-sex-object-118005/
That article was so interesting. It was especially interesting how they aren’t allowed to show any emotion but being cheerful, like Michelle always does, that it is simply not allowed and how that is handled.
Bottom line, even hardened felons in prison consider child molesters to be the lowest of the low. Josh had better quit praying for forgiveness and start praying he isn’t thrown in jail among them. Although I admit I relish that thought for the victims sake.
Who would’ve said that this fundamentalist family which has such extreme views is serious matters would take this crimes as “mistakes”.
Hipocrisy, beyond hypocrisy.
I understand feeling for your kid, (the offender), but what about the victims? your FOUR YOUNGER DAUGHTERS and another trusting innocent who was at their home?
They could have handled differently, better, so many options, including actually protect their girls, not risking them, and also ensuring the “curiosity” (yeah, right) and behavior of his boy would have been tended to, instead of that lame excuse of therapy they had… whatever … but then DARE to get a family show where they showcase their lifestyle as a model… they should be ashamed of themselves, out of sheer dignity they should quit that show.
In Touch should tell the truth that all reality shows are made of lies. And do an expose on all of them. I am so sick of reality shows taking up the air waves where we used to see talent. I refuse to watch any reality shows except for those on HGTV.
A list of lies from the FOX interview
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rolltodisbelieve/2015/06/04/a-parade-of-lies-the-duggar-interview-review/