The Duggars Respond to Reports That Josh Duggar Was Accused of Child Molestation

[KendraDZ1902]

No one is perfect, and what’s interesting is that some of those “mistakes that haunt you for the rest of your life” may be seen quite differently in the eyes of God.

That’s all that matters in the end, not what victims or what society thinks.

EOM.

Then we shouldn’t have jails. It doesn’t matter what society thinks or the victims, right? We just believe that someone is repentant and they can go on about their day.
Oh, you robbed the liquor store at gun point? Are you repentant? Ok, good…doesn’t matter what the cashier went through or that stealing is illegal.
Oh, you raped 3 girls on campus? Are you repentant? Great. You are dismissed, doesn’t matter that it is illegal or how the victims feel.

Nope, let all those criminals out of prison, all that matters is what God thinks. Screw society and victims.

 

[masondoggy]

Wait. Am I understanding this article correctly, that he was 14 years old when he did this?

If so, I don’t see how it can be considered pedophilia, as he wasn’t an adult - not nearly.
He wasn’t of the age of consent himself. I’m not making excuses for him, but it isn’t like he was 25 years old.
There seems to be no evidence that he is, today, a pedophile.

Jon

I don’t know for sure if he would officially be considered a pedophile, but it needs to be pointed out that based on the deductions one can make from reading the police report, at least 4 of his victims were his sisters and they had to range in age from FOUR-12 years old.

In 2002, there were 5 daughters living in that house (plus I think one female baby, not sure who). Those 5 daughters were something like 4, 6,7,8,12 or something like that. FOUR of those girls were victimized, making at least one of them 4 or 6 years old. This is not a case of a hormonal teenager experimenting on his teen sister. His victims were young CHILDREN.

I firmly believe there is so much more to this. A 13 year old boy does not molest his 4 or 6 year old sister unless HE was molested himself, imo. And if you go do a search on Bill Gothard and his whole movement including the rampant sex abuse that goes on (him included)…Jim Bob and Michelle are very close friends with Gothard. This is the culture that Josh grew up around. It’s no wonder this happened.

I’m just sick about this.

 

[SuperLuigi]

You can really see post-Puritan America spinning its wheels, can’t you? We treat the Josh Duggars of the world like monsters to make ourselves feel better about being home base for the world’s biggest porn industry, for example. We have to shame someone, after all, as a kind of cultural rite of expiation, and there aren’t many sexual.things left that we don’t find okay–sexual abuse being among them. So we hang a repentant man with the same hands we use to pat ourselves on the back for being so “tolerant” and “broad-minded.” What a truly unfunny joke.

:clapping:

 

[Galnextdoor]

Hopefully he got the treatment he needed. There is a lot of excellent science happening around child sex abuse and we are.growing by leaps and.bounds in terms of how to address it.

I think that how a situation is addressed makes all the difference in the world. I was a victim of molestation by my brother. (Only two incidences.) I think that if my parents had acknowledged what happened and talked about it with me, it would have made a difference in how I feel about myself. Instead, my parents said that I didn’t know what I was saying and that somehow I caused this to happen to me. (I was 6 years old.) To this day, my mother still refuses to talk to me about it.
I think that the Duggars did the best they knew how to do. I think that making Josh admit to the girls that what he had done to them was wrong and asking their forgiveness was a good step toward healing. Obviously, they all talked about it and tried to work through it.

The Duggars are wholesome, naive, trusting people. I saw them interacting at a public gathering and think that the children are happy, caring individuals.

I wonder if Josh was influenced by the family friend, the state trooper who turned out to be a child porn freak.

Josh was only 13. The molestation was reported during the month that he turned 14. I think that if his father continued to be a strong influence in his life, that maybe he overcame his problem. I think that if this behavior continued, there will be more victims crawling out of the woodwork, so to speak. If the behavior stopped, then he should be forgiven and allowed to live his life like anybody else. (Obviously, the victims we know about have forgiven him.)

More than anything else, the Duggars and the other girl involved need our prayers. Dragging this out into the open after all these years will re-open old wounds for the girls, and destroy Josh’s attempts to live a typical life.

 

[Colorad007]

It’s just not tenable for him to hold a position in an organisation that advocates for family. It’s not about forgiveness or non judgment. It’s about the stain that child sexual abuse leaves on the community. It’s an insidious crime that strikes at the collective heart. Some mistakes haunt you for the rest of your life. That’s just how it works.

As a child of divorce I can assure you that divorce really stays with you forever. Should we banish from public life all divorcees? Abortion doesn’t stick with children forever, because it rather murders them instead. But it does stick with the women who have them. Should be banish all post-abortive women from public life?

 

[Suudy]

Nope, let all those criminals out of prison, all that matters is what God thinks. Screw society and victims.

You’ve bloodied that strawman. NOBODY here is advocating letting criminals go free with a simple “I repent.”

The distinction here is that it happend when he was 14, he was caught and there was at least some sort of punishment/intervention, and he hasn’t repeated the crime. You may not agree with how it was handled, but it appears it was handled. And it appears it was handled in a way that has led to his rehabilitiation.

If instead he was sent to juvenile detention for a couple of years, had counseling and psychological treatment, then went to work for the FRC, would that have been acceptable to you?

 

[Havard]

I know you would say the same thing. You are one of the sane people.

But look at the way Roman Polanski was given a pass.

jezebel.com/5369395/whoopi-on-roman-polanski-it-wasnt-rape-rape
theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2009/sep/28/roman-polanski-arrest-hollywood
edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/09/29/hollywood.embraces.polanski/
huffingtonpost.com/bernardhenri-levy/why-i-defend-polanski-mor_b_583409.html

Not everyone is as sane as you are.

But the realy point here is whether or not Josh Duggar has repented and made amends, and how he should be treated now. Nobody here that is on Josh’s side is defending his behavior at the time. All that we are doing is saying that if he’s repented and made a firm amendment to not do it again (which it appears he has done), and the victims have forgiven him and made peace, why not take them at their word?

No, it isn’t.

 

[KendraDZ1902]

As a child of divorce I can assure you that divorce really stays with you forever. Should we banish from public life all divorcees? Abortion doesn’t stick with children forever, because it rather murders them instead. But it does stick with the women who have them. Should be banish all post-abortive women from public life?

Are you seriously comparing sex abuse to a broken family? Wow. Went through both, I’ll take parents getting divorced for 200, Alex.

 

[SuperLuigi]

14 year olds know better. Period. How are you taking this head-on? You support the abuser and seem to not care about his poor sisters, who he forced himself on.

:nope: :dts:

No, teenagers may not always fully understand what they are doing, which is why in criminal cases they are treated differently than adults would certainly be treated differently by God on Judgement Day—especially if they repent.

And to be clear, the family has already issued statements on the issue, and it is the responsibility of the parents or the sisters if they are grown to seek counseling if they need it, and my support of Josh’s repentance and moving on with life does not mean I exclude others involved from ministry or support.

I take issues like this head-on because it’s my job as a Catholic, pure, plain and simple.

I’ve already had people on this site discuss similar issues with me constructively because I didn’t rush to condemn them because of Western society’s double standards on sexual issues.

And just be warned: in the not to distant future this kind of behavior may be ACCEPTED by some places at the rate we are going.

 

[Sophie_Lawrence]

I don’t know for sure if he would officially be considered a pedophile, but it needs to be pointed out that based on the deductions one can make from reading the police report, at least 4 of his victims were his sisters and they had to range in age from FOUR-12 years old.

In 2002, there were 5 daughters living in that house (plus I think one female baby, not sure who). Those 5 daughters were something like 4, 6,7,8,12 or something like that. FOUR of those girls were victimized, making at least one of them 4 or 6 years old. This is not a case of a hormonal teenager experimenting on his teen sister. His victims were young CHILDREN.

I firmly believe there is so much more to this. A 13 year old boy does not molest his 4 or 6 year old sister unless HE was molested himself, imo. And if you go do a search on Bill Gothard and his whole movement including the rampant sex abuse that goes on (him included)…Jim Bob and Michelle are very close friends with Gothard. This is the culture that Josh grew up around. It’s no wonder this happened.

I’m just sick about this.

Thank you for posting this. It puts things more clearly in perspective, I don’t really watch the show, or know how old the siblings are compared to each other.

I don’t understand, though, it was brought to the authorities (the police report speaks of investigators) but the investigation ended there? No CPS, no hearing or mandated therapy. Odd.

 

[SuperLuigi]

SuperLuigi;12991079:

We’re arguing about apples and oranges here.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean you don’t pay your debts. I would forgive Josh Duggar if he had wronged me. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need medical treatment, or to face punishment.

Well, he received some form of counseling and there is a police report on it. Sorry if it’s not fitting to have him hung for this.

There’s a fine line between justice and revenge.

 

[Colorad007]

Then we shouldn’t have jails. It doesn’t matter what society thinks or the victims, right? We just believe that someone is repentant and they can go on about their day.
Oh, you robbed the liquor store at gun point? Are you repentant? Ok, good…doesn’t matter what the cashier went through or that stealing is illegal.
Oh, you raped 3 girls on campus? Are you repentant? Great. You are dismissed, doesn’t matter that it is illegal or how the victims feel.

Nope, let all those criminals out of prison, all that matters is what God thinks. Screw society and victims.

So a 14 year-old boy doing inappropriate and immoral things with younger girls is more or less equivalent to an adult serial rapist and an armed robber? Even leaving aside considerations about repentance and personal amendment, that statement is so utterly devoid of any reasonable understanding of how morality works that it is hard to even react to it. Quite obviously you do not have teenagers at home, and when you do I beg you to hop online and read through your comments in this thread.

 

[SuperLuigi]

You’ve bloodied that strawman. NOBODY here is advocating letting criminals go free with a simple “I repent.”

The distinction here is that it happend when he was 14, he was caught and there was at least some sort of punishment/intervention, and he hasn’t repeated the crime. You may not agree with how it was handled, but it appears it was handled. And it appears it was handled in a way that has led to his rehabilitiation.

If instead he was sent to juvenile detention for a couple of years, had counseling and psychological treatment, then went to work for the FRC, would that have been acceptable to you?

:clapping:

 

[KendraDZ1902]

You’ve bloodied that strawman. NOBODY here is advocating letting criminals go free with a simple “I repent.”

The distinction here is that it happend when he was 14, he was caught and there was at least some sort of punishment/intervention, and he hasn’t repeated the crime. You may not agree with how it was handled, but it appears it was handled. And it appears it was handled in a way that has led to his rehabilitiation.

If instead he was sent to juvenile detention for a couple of years, had counseling and psychological treatment, then went to work for the FRC, would that have been acceptable to you?

He should pay for his crimes. I simple “I’m sorry” is BS. Anyone can say that. “Oh, he’s a good Christian, he must truly mean it.” What?
It should not have been handled the way it was. I don’t feel sorry for him. He chose to do what he did. I feel sorry for his sisters. The INNOCENT who lost something the first time it happened to them.

 

[SuperLuigi]

=KendraDZ1902;12991121]He should pay for his crimes. I simple “I’m sorry” is BS.

Seems to me like he already has.

It’s more than just a “simple apology”.

It should not have been handled the way it was.

I

Well, that’s life. Deal with it and move on.

don’t feel sorry for him. He chose to do what he did. I feel sorry for his sisters.

Seems to me like he already has, and I don’t care to speculate on what he knew or what is intent was or what his choice was.

The INNOCENT who lost something the first time it happened to them.

Well, I do believe the Church teaches that if consent isn’t given it’s a different story as far as losing spiritual virginity.

 

[KendraDZ1902]

So a 14 year-old boy doing inappropriate and immoral things with younger girls is more or less equivalent to an adult serial rapist and an armed robber? Even leaving aside considerations about repentance and personal amendment, that statement is so utterly devoid of any reasonable understanding of how morality works that it is hard to even react to it. Quite obviously you do not have teenagers at home, and when you do I beg you to hop online and read through your comments in this thread.

4 sisters molested isn’t serial molestation? If my 14 year old son committed a crime, he would have to pay for his crimes. I wouldn’t hide it. I would probably beat the hell out of him if I ever found out that he molested 4 of his little sisters. We would both be going to jail.

 

[LongingSoul]

Why not? Perhaps he is a strong advocate for the family because this happened. Perhaps his shame is driving him to help make for stronger, happier, healthier families.

I think a former drug addict would be an outstanding spokesperson against drugs. And former smokers are great spokespeople against smoking. Indeed, both have been used extensively in the drug and smoking campaigns. Why does his previous sin make him less qualified to speak against abuse in the family?

Advocates using that platform are always open about their vice. That’s where the power comes from… the openness. This was a dark hidden secret and his ‘outing’ has made an hypocrisy of the image he presented as a leader.

This is true. And I don’t think for a minute that the backlash against him is contrary to God’s plan. It’s the temporal punishment due to him for his sin. But that doesn’t mean we cannot be channels for God’s grace. Ever read The Shack (not a great book, IMO, but it does demonstrate the principle)? Forgiveness and grace are powerful.

There is mercy and there is false mercy. He molested children in a predatory way severe enough that police needed to be involved. Public confidence is going to rest on two valid conditions. That is that crime is punished and psychiatric problems are properly addressed. All the mercy in the world is not going to change him if he is not fully accountable for what he has done. Which is a very serious crime.

 

[Colorad007]

Are you seriously comparing sex abuse to a broken family? Wow. Went through both, I’ll take parents getting divorced for 200, Alex.

I have never been sexually abused, but I have been through my parents’ divorce. Is one worse than the other? It is hard to say, but I can say with certainty that I the experience of divorce as a child is amazingly painful and damaging. So giving divorcees a pass while throwing buckets of stones at a decent man who has sought spiritual and mental treatment for his childhood sins is a little, oh, you know, weird.

Frankly, I’d rather condemn neither, and let them each seek forgiveness and try to use God’s grace and forgiveness to help them serve our Lord and other people.

 

[KendraDZ1902]

KendraDZ1902;12991121:

He should pay for his crimes. I simple “I’m sorry” is BS. Anyone can say that. “Oh, he’s a good Christian, he must truly mean it.” What?
It should not have been handled the way it was. I don’t feel sorry for him. He chose to do what he did. I feel sorry for his sisters.

Seems to me like he already has.

Well, I do believe the Church teaches that if consent isn’t given it’s a different story as far as losing spiritual virginity.

You aren’t the same afterwards. No matter what The Church teaches on virginity. You aren’t the same.

 

[Colorad007]

Advocates using that platform are always open about their vice. That’s where the power comes from… the openness. This was a dark hidden secret and his ‘outing’ has made an hypocrisy of the image he presented as a leader.

There is mercy and there is false mercy. He molested children in a predatory way severe enough that police needed to be involved. Public confidence is going to rest on two valid conditions. That is that crime is punished and psychiatric problems are properly addressed. All the mercy in the world is not going to change him if he is not fully accountable for what he has done. Which is a very serious crime.

“Public confidence?” That’s a bit rich, don’t you think? I am frankly unconcerned about the “confidence” of a public that so easily demonizes an apparently decent man while celebrating a whole host of other damaging, despicable behaviors, lifestyles, and actions.