AR - Josh Duggar Admits Molesting Girls As A Teenager - #1

[Leilei]

My head and stomach are spinning from that report.

Saw on FB the hashtag #19kidsandcancelled. Sounds about right.

 

[gitana1]

I always suspected something would come out about this family. But I thought it would be a mommy dearest type scandal. Sex stuff was, though, always in the back of my mind.

 

[jjenny]

RSBM

Well, perhaps he is 'cured' of repeating these acts. And that would be a good thing.
My .02 is that I didn't like how it was handled by his parents.
:moo:

I sure hope he is cured because he's got young children.

 

[Cubby]

I do believe this whole thing will lead to the end of the Duggars on TLC...kinda like Honey Boo Boo, after all those allegations.

Respectfully, why would we call these "allegations"? The accused has not denied the actions, so lets call them what they are- actions and not allegations.

I've never seen the show and agree, it's time to call it quits....

 

[gitana1]

My head and stomach are spinning from that report.

Saw on FB the hashtag #19kidsandcancelled. Sounds about right.

It has to be. The premise of the show is a wholesome, loving, God-centered family. How can they continue with that premise when the world has just discovered their nasty, dirty little secret.

 

[gitana1]

Respectfully, why would we call these "allegations"? The accused has not denied the actions, so lets call them what they are- actions and not allegations.

I've never seen the show and agree, it's time to call it quits....

I think that post was before the confession.

 

[EllieBee]

I sure hope he is cured because he's got young children.

IMO, baby molesters cannot ever be cured.

The quiver will try to protect him, because girls and women are not worthy of rights.

Sick and disgusting. Those poor children.

 

[Montjoy]

I've got to say that the network that airs this horrible program really needs to take a look at itself as well. Do they not vet the people who are characters/personalities in their shows? (Well, I suppose not, as this show would never have been aired if they though for a minute about the ideology it promotes.) But when one of the characters takes a significant position in an organization whose primary mandate would seem to be promoting hate, do they not think twice about continuing the series?

 

[Fairy1]

RSBM

Well, perhaps he is 'cured' of repeating these acts. And that would be a good thing.
My .02 is that I didn't like how it was handled by his parents.
:moo:

He's not "cured." They never are, as evidenced by so many cases here on WS.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

rsbm

Gosh, how will the prestigious Family Research Council ever survive such a blow?

From: http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/family-research-council


"The Family Research Council (FRC) bills itself as “the leading voice for the family in our nation’s halls of power,” but its real specialty is defaming gays and lesbians. The FRC often makes false claims about the LGBT community based on discredited research and junk science. The intention is to denigrate LGBT people in its battles against same-sex marriage, hate crimes laws, anti-bullying programs and the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy."

They're just relieved he didn't confess to molesting his brothers.

 

[Montjoy]

They're just relieved he didn't confess to molesting his brothers.

Forgive the OT, but actually the FRC typically tries to connect pedophilia with homosexuality, so Josh Duggar would have put them in a lose-lose situation either way. It's never been clear to me whether they hate homosexuals more than pedophiles or vice versa -- but I guess, since they have so much hate to spare, that they don't need to pick sides on some issues.

 

[EllieBee]

They're just relieved he didn't confess to molesting his brothers.

I thought this very thing but did not have the cojones to post it. Well done, you.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Michelle Duggar:

"When Josh was a young teenager, he made some very bad mistakes, and we were shocked. We had tried to teach him right from wrong. That dark and difficult time caused us to seek God like never before. ... each one of our family members drew closer to God."

Link: http://www.people.com/article/josh-duggar-molestation-accusations-duggars-respond

Curiously, God apparently did not advise them to cooperate with law enforcement. Or even to get Josh to a professional therapist.

"Jim Bob also refused to allow police to interview Josh when they opened a felony investigation in 2006."
...
"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."
...
"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.
...
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.
...
Det. [Darrell] Hignite asked if the guy [redacted, Josh] talked to was a certified counselor. [Michelle] said no."

Link: http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/...leged-sex-offenses-for-more-than-a-year-58906

Go to the link to read about the convicted child *advertiser censored* aficionado who gave Josh a stern talking-to. :facepalm:

 

[Boytwnmom]

long ago for their hateful, discriminatory & patriarchal beliefs instead of having TLC gloss over them and falsely present them as some sort of model family. I'm not at all surprised there's a sex scandal. People who present as hyper religious and righteous and anti-gay somehow seem to often end up in sex scandals. Course the Duggars are strict adherents of ATI whose leader, Gothard, is a notorious predator of young girls. There's an entire web site, Recovering Grace, devoted to people damaged by the same beliefs in Gothard and ATI that the Duggars follow and espouse. The Duggars sent Josh the offender to a Gothard program, Alerts, instead of a real program to address his behavior.

The FRC still has the Josh and Anna page up which touts all the Gothard programs:http://ja20.com/resources/ Bet that won't stay up long.

It's so infuriating, all the focus on the need for the girls to be "modest" and wear dresses and cook, clean and do all the childcare. Is it any wonder girls were just objects to a young Josh. It's much more OK for the men to act out sexually as the burden is on the girls to be modest as men "can't help it". And the girls always have to be happy and smile no matter what. Girls cause their brothers to stumble you know.

And sites about survivors of these extremist religious groups often detail sexual abuse which is easily harbored by home school, home church, lack of interactions with other people. The Duggars always had to be with an "accountability partner" to protect them from the awful outside world but their own family harbored the person sexually abusing them.

And why wasn't the state child protective services called? Wouldn't there have been a mandatory report/referral? It doesn't seem like there was any investigation to ensure the abused girls were safe and were being properly protected. Instead we know they "forgave" Josh. I wonder how that went. I'm sure it would be un-Godly to refuse to "forgive" your abuser. Did they get any counseling? Doubtful as they don't believe in it.

You know what Gothard teaches about sexual abuse? I found out. Recovering Grace covered this topic, publishing stories of sexual abuse in ATI families just like the Duggars. Many victims told of Gothards response to sexual abuse based on his chart for "Counseling Sexual Abuse" http://www.recoveringgrace.org/2013/04/how-counseling-sexual-abuse-blames-and-shames-survivors/

Points 1 and 2 downplay the sexual abuse victim’s physical suffering as damage to the “least important” part of a person...Point 3 condemns the victim for self-damage (presumably to mind, will, and emotions left untouched by the abuser) and rebukes the victim for feeling not only bitterness, but also guilt....Point 4 suggests that the victim invited the abuse by enticing the abuser or by earning divine wrath. This is a particularly stark example of Gothard’s theology: Gothard presents a God who passively or actively allows sexual abuse as just punishment for “immodest dress,” “indecent exposure,” “being out from under protection of our parents,” or “being with evil friends.”..Point 5 speculates that the sexual abuse victim is likely guilty for some part of the abuse or its aftermath, and appears to directly contradict Point 3, which reprimanded the victim for damaging his or her soul with guilt....Point 6 leads with the default assumption that the abused is usually at least partly at fault, presenting the guiltless abuse victim as an exception. This guiltless victim is told what great spiritual power he or she can expect to be compensated with after being sexually violated....Point 8 presents a vicious false dichotomy that pressures the abuse victim to symbolically “choose” sexual abuse as a necessary accompaniment or gateway to being “mighty in Spirit.” Points 9 and 10 echo Points 1-3 in condemning any “bitterness” the victim may feel — and by word count this is apparently a far greater concern than the sexual abuse itself.

Of the four listed consequences of sexual abuse, three concentrate on damage to public image. The abuse is presented as tragic, but public exposure of the abuse and the resulting damage to appearances are presented as at least as tragic. In this list of questions, “immodesty” in the home was presented to the young man as a leading question. It’s assumed to be a motivating factor for his sexual abuse of his siblings, and he was asked how not only he, but also his extremely young victims, could have been trained to “resist evil.” The document later endorses the offender’s critique of his young siblings failings in “modesty,” and concludes with a list of steps for parents to take to prevent sexual abuse among siblings. ...The complete document is available here: Lessons_From_Moral_Failures_in_a_Family

That document, Moral Failures in a Family is about a son who abused younger sisters. His perspective, blaming the lack of "modesty" in the home, is highlighted in the booklet:

Modesty was a factor. It was not at the level it should have been in my family. It was not uncommon for my younger siblings to come out of their baths naked or with a towel. They would often run around the house for the next twenty minutes until my mom or sister got around to dressing them. Changing my younger sisters' diapers when they were really young may not have been a big thing, but it really did not have to be that way (if we had only applied Levitical law). My younger sisters used to wear dresses often, but as they were young and not aware of modesty, they did not behave in them as they should.

And the mother of the abuser shared some of the valuable lessons she learned:

0 Do not allow boys to change diapers, especially of baby sisters.
o Insist on modesty at all times.
o Teach the children to recognize wrong behavior in moral areas.
o Pray for protection from *advertiser censored*. Prepare them to resist it by reading Provo 1-7.

It seems well past time to put this show out to pasture or to expose these "stars" for who they really are and what they really believe.

I've got to say that the network that airs this horrible program really needs to take a look at itself as well. Do they not vet the people who are characters/personalities in their shows? (Well, I suppose not, as this show would never have been aired if they though for a minute about the ideology it promotes.) But when one of the characters takes a significant position in an organization whose primary mandate would seem to be promoting hate, do they not think twice about continuing the series?

 

[IzzyBlanche]

I never watched this show but really? they were held up as a model family?

Model of what?

Religion notwithstanding, how can parents of that many children be models for anything except what a lack of birth control and healthy fertility will get you?

How could they possibly give each child the individual attention and nurturing that every child needs, siblings or no?

I'm baffled.

 

[MsMarple]

Disgusting.

Josh Duggar apologized Thursday and abruptly resigned his job at the Family Research Council in Washington, one of the leading conservative groups fighting abortion and gay marriage among other causes.

Because being gay is so much worse than sexually assaulting children. But hey, he said sorry so I guess it's okay now. And he got a stern talking to by the cop - who's now in prison for child *advertiser censored*.

The InTouch story, which included pictures of the police documents it was based on, reported that Josh Duggar was investigated for multiple sex offenses, including forcible fondling of breasts and genitals, against five underage girls. Some of the alleged offenses investigated were felonies.
...
Josh's wife Anna, 26, said in the family statement that she knew about her husband's "past teenage mistakes" two years before he proposed. She supported him nonetheless and is confident that the counseling he's received has "changed his life."

It's not a teenage mistake, it's sexual assault! Girl, you best watch your daughter like a hawk.

It's time to amend the statutes of limitations on sexual assault. And I hope TLC cans this sorry family's show. And I don't even watch it. Grr.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/...eeling-from-joshs-sex-abuse-scandal/27741883/

 

[Fairy1]

They're just relieved he didn't confess to molesting his brothers.

We shall see. Maybe.

 

[gitana1]

long ago for their hateful, discriminatory & patriarchal beliefs instead of having TLC gloss over them and falsely present them as some sort of model family. I'm not at all surprised there's a sex scandal. People who present as hyper religious and righteous and anti-gay somehow seem to often end up in sex scandals. Course the Duggars are strict adherents of ATI whose leader, Gothard, is a notorious predator of young girls. There's an entire web site, Recovering Grace, devoted to people damaged by the same beliefs in Gothard and ATI that the Duggars follow and espouse. The Duggars sent Josh the offender to a Gothard program, Alerts, instead of a real program to address his behavior.

The FRC still has the Josh and Anna page up which touts all the Gothard programs:http://ja20.com/resources/ Bet that won't stay up long.

It's so infuriating, all the focus on the need for the girls to be "modest" and wear dresses and cook, clean and do all the childcare. Is it any wonder girls were just objects to a young Josh. It's much more OK for the men to act out sexually as the burden is on the girls to be modest as men "can't help it". And the girls always have to be happy and smile no matter what. Girls cause their brothers to stumble you know.

And sites about survivors of these extremist religious groups often detail sexual abuse which is easily harbored by home school, home church, lack of interactions with other people. The Duggars always had to be with an "accountability partner" to protect them from the awful outside world but their own family harbored the person sexually abusing them.

And why wasn't the state child protective services called? Wouldn't there have been a mandatory report/referral? It doesn't seem like there was any investigation to ensure the abused girls were safe and were being properly protected. Instead we know they "forgave" Josh. I wonder how that went. I'm sure it would be un-Godly to refuse to "forgive" your abuser. Did they get any counseling? Doubtful as they don't believe in it.

You know what Gothard teaches about sexual abuse? I found out. Recovering Grace covered this topic, publishing stories of sexual abuse in ATI families just like the Duggars. Many victims told of Gothards response to sexual abuse based on his chart for "Counseling Sexual Abuse" http://www.recoveringgrace.org/2013/04/how-counseling-sexual-abuse-blames-and-shames-survivors/





That document, Moral Failures in a Family is about a son who abused younger sisters. His perspective, blaming the lack of "modesty" in the home, is highlighted in the booklet:



And the mother of the abuser shared some of the valuable lessons she learned:



It seems well past time to put this show out to pasture or to expose these "stars" for who they really are and what they really believe.

This is so sick. And so true.

You know, I have actually researched this family quite a bit as part of larger research into their specific religious movement. (I have a BA in American Studies and New Religious Movements (i.e. "cults"), have been a major fascination for me and a big part of my studies). I've followed them for years and other like them. ATI is a dangerous movement that TLC whitewashed from the show. Nevertheless, there remained a significant audience including not only people who admired their lifestyle but also people who didn't or people who were fascinated.

But while there were things about their lifestyle and culture that were upsetting to me, these were human beings who I feel were sincere in their beliefs and truly trying to life a good life. And I am able to disagree with a culture without hate. These are not evil people, IMO. Regardless of the damage their belief system apparently caused.

However, I do believe that this is over. I cannot see how TLC can continue to market these people. It is done, I think. Now we will see how it is possible to have mega families, "debt free", living well without corporate sponsors.

 

[gitana1]

I never watched this show but really? they were held up as a model family?

Model of what?

Religion notwithstanding, how can parents of that many children be models for anything except what a lack of birth control and healthy fertility will get you?

How could they possibly give each child the individual attention and nurturing that every child needs, siblings or no?

I'm baffled.

"Training" and the "buddy system".

 

[IzzyBlanche]

long ago for their hateful, discriminatory & patriarchal beliefs instead of having TLC gloss over them and falsely present them as some sort of model family

Respectfully snipped for space and focus:

ha ha ha re: "if only Levitical law had been applied"

The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

--Leviticus 18:9