CHINA TOPIX

12/22/2024 06:42:24 pm

Make CT Your Homepage

Josh Duggar’s Parents Finally Open Up About Child Molestation Scandal: Exclusive Interview

Jim Bob Duggar (L) and his wife Michelle Duggar (R) in Columbia, South Carolina

(Photo : Reuters) Jim Bob Duggar (L) and his wife Michelle Duggar (R) in Columbia, South Carolina, on the steps of the State House in this file photo from January 14, 2012.

On Wednesday, Josh Duggar's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, sat down with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. The exclusive interview with Fox is the couple's first since reports of Josh's child molestation scandal hit the news two weeks ago.

The New York Times reports that Josh admitted to molesting five girls, four of which were his sisters, Jim Bob and Michelle told Kelly, the Fox anchor. The interview which features the Duggar parents is in the segment "The Kelly File," set to air on Fox News Channel Wednesday. 

Like Us on Facebook

Both stars of TLC's reality series "19 Kids and Counting," the duo shared feeling like they were failures when Josh confessed to them of touching underage girls, which included four of his sisters.

Jessa Seewald and Jill Dillard, daughters of the Arkansas couple who are now in their 20s, have appeared in the TLC hit's final episode. In the dramatic finale, one of them said "We're victims," as she weeps.

Despite the tearful statement, it remains unclear what the Duggar daughter was referring to. In the interview, Michelle told Kelly that the girls Josh had molested had felt "more victimized these last few weeks more than they were 12 years ago" because of the media attention.

Jim Bob said Josh approached him at 14 years old to confess he had "improperly touched some of our daughters" as they slept. He also told Kelly that he and Michelle had placed "safeguards" so Josh wouldn't repeat what he had done. Unfortunately, Josh repeated touching the girls in a different room, and that sometimes, they were aware and awake.

"This was not rape or anything like that," Jim Bob Duggar said during the interview. "There were a couple of instances where he touched them under their clothes, but it was like a few seconds. And then he came to us and was crying and told us what happened."

After their son's third confession, the couple decided to send Josh to a "training center" in Little Rock. Josh was 15. The "center" was handled by a man mentoring young boys who have made "unwise choices."

Michelle said she decided to focus on Josh's behavior and intent at the time, adding that her daughters "weren't even aware ... they didn't probably even understand that it was improper touch."

Michelle's decision may be unsafe however. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, which is funded by federal agencies, said it is unsafe to assume that children are protected by trauma because of young age.

"Young children are affected by traumatic events, even though they may not understand what happened," the organization said on its website.

Jim Bob defended their actions and said that the counseling changed their son. He added that though trust was restored, they retained several of the "safeguards" to prevent Josh's misbehaviour. Some of the "safeguards" in the family included being alone together and the girls were not allowed to sit in boys' laps.

Jim Bob said that when they agreed to appear in the TLC reality show, they "had nothing to hide. We had taken care of that [touching problem] years before."

The child molestation scandal erupted last month, with many expressing rage and disappointment at the family as they used the hashtags #CancelTheDuggars, #DitchTheDuggars and #BoycottTLC.

Josh Duggar reportedly confessed to Jim Bob about the molestation on three separate occasions, some of which were to his sisters and a family friend, according to a new police report gathered by In Touch magazine.

The full interview featuring Seewald and Dillard will be aired Friday night on Fox, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Real Time Analytics