I realize that the Duggars are sort of like the Kardashian-Jenner clan at this point, in that you just want them all to STAHP. I understand. But I have two things to say about that. One, we’re about to go into a holiday and besides the Garner-Affleck stuff, it’s pretty slow this week. Two, I think it’s important to keep out eye on the Duggars. They’ve been attempting a “comeback” following the massive scandal of Josh Duggar’s previously escalating molestations of his sisters and it’s also worth remembering that TLC still hasn’t canceled 19 Kids and Counting. Seriously. My theory is that the Duggars are trying to stay relatively quiet for a few months and then TLC will announce that the show is back on the air in the fall, because after all it wasn’t like Josh Duggar was actually convicted of anything (because the statute of limitations had already run out).
Speaking of the cops investigating the Duggars, In Touch Weekly has another exclusive. Apparently, the same police force that has and is currently investigating the Duggars is also the same police force that works for the Duggars on the side.
In Touch magazine has exclusively learned that Tontitown, Arkansas, cops recently took off-duty paid jobs guarding the Duggars while the department has an open investigation into the family. Emails obtained exclusively by In Touch through a Freedom of Information Act request reveal that the interim police chief of Tontitown OKed the off-duty work.
Kate Gosselin’s longtime bodyguard Steve Neild — who’s now working for the Duggars — paid off-duty officers from the local force in Tontitown, Arkansas, $25 an hour to provide security at the Duggar family home on May 21, 2015, and Josh’s new home on May 20 and 21 when Josh returned home from Washington, D.C., after In Touch broke the story about his sexual molestation scandal and he resigned from the Family Research Council.
The new information raises the troubling prospect of a conflict of interest, as the Tontitown police and the Department of Human Services have an open investigation into the Duggars.
Dr. Paul Kroutter, head of the criminal justice department at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and, retired police captain of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, told In Touch: “I would be hesitant to provide security service for a family that my agency’s been doing investigations on. I would want to avoid the appearance of any improprieties.”
In Touch broke the news weeks ago that the Duggars are currently under investigation by the Tontitown police and the DHS after obtaining a 911 call on May 27 when a DHS employee was refused entry to the Duggar home while attempting to check on the welfare of a minor.
In Touch then obtained a Tontitown PD document that reveals the investigation is ongoing. While Washington County gave In Touch its dispatch log, Tontitown did not, and instead redacted the document and listed the reason as, “This is a current active investigation.”
I don’t see how this isn’t a huge bureaucratic failure for the Tontitown police force. If this was Joe Blow Average Citizen, someone currently not under investigation, then sure, it wouldn’t be a problem – I don’t think the police officers should have to be denied the side-work. But as In Touch says, these are people who have been and are currently under investigation. It’s a huge conflict of interest for the police force. I mean, what is the off-duty cop supposed to do if he sees one of the Duggars doing something illegal? Yikes. Also: why do the Duggars need that kind of security? From what I’ve read, no one is really bothering them. If anything, their neighbors are going out of their way to protect the Duggars.
Photos courtesy of Duggars’ social media.
Why don’t the Duggars hire their own private bodyguards/ security people? I am sure they could afford it.
They do. In the article, it sounds like their security sub-contracted the off-duty Tontitown police.
Great. Now there will need to be an internal affairs investigation to determine whether any officers involved in the investigation were hired by the Duggars.
And the plot thickens. This mess just keeps getting messier. The sh!t show that keeps on giving.
This is like some Stephen King shit.
The creepy small town is defending the creepy family and protecting their creepy secrets.
Oh god, Kit, you’ve given me this eerie mental picture of pale, glassy eyed, preppy zombie-people in starched polo shirts walking around their creepy small town muttering about purity and side hugs…
That sounds pretty much like 19 Kids, though, doesn’t it? Only with a side order of Stepford thrown in for luck.
Not to mention that the police officer Jim Bob Duggar spoke with for the molestation issue was convicted on child pornagraphy charges. I would think the Police Dept would be very sensitive to conflict of interest issues.
Yes. As an aside, I wonder how Daddy knew to turn to the one state trooper that happened to be a fellow pedophile himself. I mean, what luck! Nothing sinister sounding about that.
*waits for the other potential shoe to follow*
and now, some potentially good news…
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/01/josh_duggar_to_be_sued_by_non_family_member_he_molested_report/
(hope that link is OK…)
THIS is what what could lead to this show FINALLY being canceled.
*The anonymous source who told In Touch about the lawsuit added that it could be very damaging not just for Josh, but the entire family, because as a civil proceeding about a crime whose statute of limitations has expired, neither he nor his parents would be allowed to plead the Fifth to avoid self-incrimination.*
Good. In adversarial proceedings, lies will come back to bite them on their backsides, and this is highly likely to show up how many lies they have already told, given the contradictions between the police statements and the Fox interview.
I ended up cutting off my Cable because of these People. I got into a huge agrument to try to get TLC pulled from the package that I had………I don’t want to pay for that! And they said that there’s is nothing I could do other than lock the channel on my end. How does that send a message to TLC? They are still getting paid. I checked with the other providers available to me and it was the same thing. So its Netflix for me!!
You could write a letter to TLC. They need some feedback by people that are disgusted by their choices.
Yep, contact the #TouchingLittleChildren network directly with your feedback, and tell them they’ve driven you to Netflix!
@ TotallyBiased
That’s a great description of their acronym!
Bristol Palin is stomping around with a rifle, banging on about the sacredness of life, and now these dangerous cult freaks who pose a threat to women and children have their own police guard to protect them?! If I don’t get some Tom Hardy soon, I’m going to be growly grumpy all day long.
Same. I need a shot of Hardy stat.
Douches! Douches as far as the eye can see today! Duggar, Penn, Iggy, Ben, Palin!
There’s a chant in there somewhere. Something, something GO AWAY!
Vampi, thank you for the laugh! “Something, something, GO AWAY!” 🙂 I am humming it with you.
The only decent show on TLC is The Little Couple. The fact the Duggars haven’t been cancelled, speaks volumes. The network is waiting for the furor to die down before bringing them back, minus Josh.
And if Steve Neild, TLC stooge and Kate Gosselin purse-carrier, is arranging all this, it means that TLC continues to provide support to the family. I am sure that the Duggars did not hire Neild. My money is on this show coming back–hypocrisy at its finest.
Good call, YUCK.
There’s stories on Radar Online that the Duggars had and have debts and had liens placed on them, so when I read this story about them paying the cops and about Neild, I too wondered who’s footing the bill.
I for one don’t care if you continue to cover the Duggars. There is/was some shady (and criminal) stuff going on in that house and it needs to come to light.
But as for the Kardashians, please please STAHP. Lol
yeah child molesters who get away with their crimes should be held under a giant spotlight
Rumor was that TLC hired Steve Neild when Kate Gosselin was still viable, not to only to protect Kate but to protect the public (TLC’s interests) from Kate. Steve Neild may have been hired to report back to TLC’s execs and they may be footing the bill.
I haven’t been to Tontitown, but I’m assuming its entire economy is based on the Duggars at this point. They’re like the modern-day pig factory.
Northwest Arkansas is actually quite large and is made up of Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville and Rogers with a couple little towns like Tontitown sprinkled in. One town bleeds right into the rest. There are several large corporations headquartered here: Walmart, Tyson and J.B. Hunt. Because of that, most retail suppliers also maintain offices nearby. It’s an unusual economic climate, especially for Arkansas. It’s also more liberal, especially Fayetteville, than the conservative ass hats that make up the rest of the state. I actually worked at the Walmart HO until I had a baby and was able to stay home recently. The Duggars, as far as I see, are no more than an interesting circus show in my world. I actually ran into Jill in the post office when she was pregnant and she was hiding her face like she didn’t want to be recognized. I walked on by (even though it was just us two) and didn’t approach her. I thought it was sad, especially for someone who invites the public in through a reality show. Then again, I guess it wasn’t her decision initially. Sad situation all around but those people are messed up.
I don’t think this town’s government jobs are paid for by the other towns but have to depend on taxes and whatever private jobs come their way. So the Duggars paying the cops for ‘jobs’ while they’re being investigated by the same PD is a conflict, imo.
Anne, I’m sure the PD makes a fair wage at their day jobs, even if it’s funded by Tontitown tax payers. Sounds like they got the proper clearance from authority to take the jobs (the decision seems misguided to me). I’m sure those cops support the Duggars. Why else would they take those jobs? There is plenty of opportunity for work without the Duggars.
Fair enough, Argirl, apologies for the uneducated generalization!
Kaiser, I totally agree – they are waiting for the outrage to die down so that they can attempt a comeback. Please keep shining a light on these people!
OOOHHH! Civil suit coming!!! It’s about to hit the fan.
Imo, that PD should just label it as a pay-off if they can’t be proper enough to disallow getting payments from people they’re investigating.
And I find it odd that they won’t release documents citing an on-going investigation at the same time money exchanging hands between them and the potential ‘suspects’ is OK.
Huge mistake on the part of the police chief okaying this. As for the TLC execs–super shady.
I’m glad you’re covering this. Think to way back in the day…stories like these would NEVER be aired because they were deemed inappropriate to report on. I say, spotlight away. Molesters need to know that they can’t hide in the dark any more.