Josh Duggar

[sanantone]

If you haven't heard, InTouch Magazine got a hold of a police report on Josh Duggar molesting his younger sisters and another little girl when he was around 14 or 15 years old. Despite my dislike of the CollegePlus and Duggar partnership, I would watch marathons of 19 Kids and Counting all the time. I won't be watching it anymore, but that currently isn't a possibility because TLC has pulled it off the air. I don't know if this is only temporary.

Apparently, the parents first had a family friend, a state trooper, come by and talk to Josh warning him what could happen if the behavior continued. He wasn't arrested. If the sources are right, this trooper was later convicted of having child pornography. The parents originally said they sent him away to Christian counseling, but the mother later admitted that he was sent to help a family friend with remodeling. If all of this is true, I find it disturbing that they let him back in the house without any kind of therapy or legal repercussions. The police report came from when a family friend was loaned a book by one of the Duggars and discovered a letter in it detailing what happened. That friend contacted Child Protective Services.

I wonder if CollegePlus is going to end its partnership with the Duggars.
The Web Has Known About Josh Duggar for Years. When Did TLC Find Out?
Josh Duggar: '19 Kids and Counting' Pulled in Wake of Allegations - ABC News

[LaterBloomer]

As someone who has worked in Child Protective Services, I won't even comment on Josh Duggar. What I WILL comment about is all of the folks who knew about it -and some might have been mandated reporters - who didn't do squat. Is that what our children deserve? It would be lovely - but unrealistic - to think that these parents could be unbiased in this situation. Someone else needed to watch out for these children - their parents wouldn't. These parents did a disservice to their son and to all of these girls. There's plenty of shame to go around.

[sanantone]

I wonder if parents of the girl(s) who weren't his sisters ever found out about this. Would they have been okay with how this situation was handled?

[UptonSinclair]

I think sometimes there is an idea of discipline within "the church" that conflicts with civil law. I found it a bit disconcerting that the one police office that was informed is a family friend who is now serving a prison sentence for an unrelated child pornography conviction.

[sanantone]

In addition to following the Quiverfull Movement, the Duggars also follow the teachings of Bill Gothard who was connected to Verity Institute (similar to CollegePlus) and removed from the Institute of Basic Life Principles after 34 women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment and molestation. Instead of notifying the police, IBLP conducted its own "investigation" and found that no laws were broken.

[LaterBloomer]

Religion is very important to many people. Prayer and their relationship with Jesus/God/whomever is a fundamental part of their existence. Unless we've decided to follow some sort of Christian sharia, however, these sorts of incidents must be reported to non-religious authorities. Not law enforcement or public officials who are members of your church. Independent authorities. While I'm at it, I can't help but think that, while non-religious mental health treatment cannot address all issues all the time, many of these religious counselors, programs, etc. are often less effective in addressing the problem.

That picture of Duggar that includes his daughter? All I can think is, "fresh meat."

[Tedium]

I thought it was sick and sad that so many people knew and nothing substantial was done. That's bad parenting, plain and simple, yet that couple tries to proselytize to the world about how children should be raised, etc. I'm not sure the extent of the molestation, but can you imagine how traumatized those girls were or are? Having to continue to interact with their abuser like nothing ever happened? That's what upsets me the most. Kids aren't stupid and they are capable of complex emotions and thoughts.

"It's okay though, you guys. He promised he would never do it again, so we're all good. No need to tarnish a good name with black sheep."

It's sickening.

Also, everything I read says that the pulling of the TV show is temporary. That better not be the case. Why reward people for stupid, irresponsible, and dangerous behavior? I'm all for rehabilitation and second chances, but they do not need to be given back that same platform and all of the perks that entails.

[Devanna]

What makes me mad is that people are defending this and acting like it's no big deal because he "repented". Experience has taught me that people like him don't stop without serious intervention, they just get sneakier and more devious. I truly hope that what his parents did was enough to discourage him from ever doing it again but I don't consider it likely, unfortunately.

[LaterBloomer]

I'm very disappointed with the judge who ordered that the records be purged. He is playing into folks' ignorance about the law when he says he's doing it for the victims. In criminal cases, the indictment is "The State [or Commonwealth] of _____ versus [Defendant's name]," not "[Victim's Name] versus [Defendant's Name]. It's a common misconception that the victim is bringing the cause of action against the defendant. S/he isn't. It's the State. Society has passed laws to maintain order. It's society trying a defendant in a court of law for violating society's norms. (Victim's get their chance in civil court.) It's the state's way of bringing order. One hopes that victims and the community see the law in action, and it prevents vigilantism.

To purge these records "for the victims" is a travesty of justice. (Although Mr. Duggar did wrong, I'm not very pleased with the way the records got out. Looks like someone in the courthouse was a bit of a vigilante, if I understand everything correctly, and didn't respect the confidentiality of juvenile records. To me, that's a bigger crime than Mr. Duggar's. If we can't expect the judicial system to be unbiased, why should we expect anything from it?)

[sanantone]

We already know which four sisters were molested. Only five of them were alive at the time, and a message board posting years ago said the oldest one wasn't molested. Finding out that he molested the 5 year old just adds to the disturbing nature of this crime. If you read Gothard's teachings, the first thing they do when it is found out that someone has been sexually abused is to determine whether or not the victim was at fault or partial fault. For example, they'll investigate to see if the girl was wearing a dress that was too tight or showed too much skin.