LITTLE ROCK, Ark. | TLC pulled the reality series “19 Kids and Counting” from its schedule on Friday, a move that follows reports of sexual misconduct allegations against one of the stars, Josh Duggar, stemming from when he was a juvenile.
In a statement, the channel said it was “deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and victims at this difficult time.” The statement didn’t elaborate.
Also Friday, Arkansas police said they had destroyed a record outlining a nearly decade-old investigation into Duggar, a day after the 27-year-old resigned his role with a prominent conservative Christian group amid reports about the allegations.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which obtained the offense report before its destruction, reports Duggar was accused of fondling five girls in 2002 and 2003. Duggar issued an apology Thursday on Facebook for unspecified bad behavior as a youth and resigned his role as executive director for FRC Action, the tax-exempt legislative action arm of the Washington-based Family Research Council.
“I would do anything to go back to those teen years and take different actions,” Duggar wrote. “In my life today, I am so very thankful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.”
No charges were filed against Duggar, and the report says investigators concluded the statute of limitations had passed, according to the newspaper.
Duggar appears on the TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting,” which stars his family. He is the oldest of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s 19 children.
TLC didn’t address whether its popular show would return. The program had been set to air in reruns after wrapping its most recent season.
Springdale Police began investigating Duggar in 2006 when officers were alerted to a letter containing the allegations that was found in a book lent by a family friend to someone else.
The report, originally published by tabloid In Touch Weekly, states that a member of Harpo Studios, the producer of Oprah Winfrey’s then show, received an email containing the allegations before the family was set to appear in 2006. The tipster warned producers against allowing the Duggars on the show and studio staff members faxed a copy of the email to Arkansas State Police.
Springdale Police spokesman Scott Lewis said Judge Stacey Zimmerman ordered the 2006 offense report destroyed Thursday. Zimmerman didn’t return a request for comment on Friday.
“The judge ordered us yesterday to expunge that record,” Lewis said, adding that similar records are typically kept indefinitely. “As far as the Springdale Police Department is concerned this report doesn’t exist.”
Neither Duggar nor his father, a former state representative, returned calls seeking comment Friday.
Several Arkansas Republicans have rallied behind the Duggar family, which is still engaged in state politics. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar attended the kickoff event earlier this month for Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who supported the family in a Facebook post on Friday.
“Those who have enjoyed revealing this long ago sins in order to discredit the Duggar family have actually revealed their own insensitive bloodthirst, for there was no consideration of the fact that the victims wanted this to be left in the past and ultimately a judge had the information on file destroyed_not to protect Josh, but the innocent victims,” Huckabee wrote.
Arkansas Sen. Bart Hester said Josh Duggar, who he has known for about five years, has been open and honest about the incident with wife, family and friends. State Sen. Jon Woods, who has known the Duggar family since 2005, said the family had put the issue behind them.
“It’s between the family members and was addressed a long time ago but it’s new to the public,” Woods said. “The family had time to heal and now the public needs time to heal.”
Last October, TLC canceled a series about child beauty pageant contestant Honey Boo Boo and her Georgia family amid reports that her mother, June Shannon, was dating a man with a criminal past.
Follow Allen Reed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Allen_Reed
Will TLC continue a series and give a child molester a platform? The hypocrisy of these ‘chistians’ is mind-blowing! The parents hide the activity until the statute of limitations passed and now, likely with Mike Huckabee’s involvement, the record is expunged – this is the ethics of the christian right at work, it’s okay to molest young girls if you’re a christian as long as you can thump your bible loud enough – disgusting but not a surprise from the ‘family values christians’ of right wing politics.
Here are some facts:
1)Abuse occurred when he was a minor.
2) abuse occurred before the show started
3) he underwent counseling and the abuse did not reoccur
4) no one has said this behavior was ok
It is funny to watch the sodomites and progressive liberals can’t man this man for mistakes he made as a child. Not sure what they expect to have been done. Execute a 14 year old?
Good example of the forgiveness and mercy of the progressive left. This out rage is not about the abuse but rather the fact the family is Christian.
The facts are he molested 6 young girls which he admitted, he got “counseling” from a convicted sex-offender, the parents committed reckless endangerment allowing a child molester to move freely among minor children, they conspired to obstruct justice by not reporting it to the police when it happened and they’ve never expressed remorse. They’re counting on mindless sheep like you to ‘forgive’ and defend them when in reality they laughing at you for doing it, defend a sex offender – that is your choice. The right wing has vilified young people for years and not forgiven them for a variety of behavioral issue, you only get tolerance when its a right wing fanatic religionist who commits the crimes which exemplifies your hypocrisy!
I hope everyone reads the comment above as it is a good demonstration of the pathology of progressive liberals. Because of their rejection of God they have also rejected mercy and love. The feelings of shame at the heart of most liberals prevents them from thinking rationally outside of themselves and to show mercy to others. This shame makes liberals think they are not worthy of mercy and is why they show so little to others, especially to those who do show mercy and forgiveness. This comment seems to indicate that a child should be condemned forever for a mistake he made. That a family should cease to exist because one of their children made a mistake.
A similar behavior can be seen with homosexuals. Due to the the deep rooted shame of those who engage in homosexual acts they are not understadning or tolerant of others. Any mention, no matter how gentle, that their homosexual actions are not natural immediately gets an accusation of “H8” and attempt to transfer the shame that the homosexual feels inside.
Your drivel is more than absurd – first – how do you know I am not a christian? You’re judging me with no facts – a sin on your soul! You assume all liberals think alike – is that because all conservatives think alike? another sin on your soul! You seem to be engaging in massive projection perhaps you feeling that you are not worthy of mercy. You’re a typical right wing zealot operating on opinion rather than fact… the fact is this family broke many laws, sheltered a criminal, exposed their daughters to risk and covered it up – they are truly the exemplary christian family and you’re just as low defending them. Do you feel the same way about all minors who sexually assault their siblings or just the christian ones?
Megan’s law. This guy needs to register as he is sex offender.
Even for something that happened when he was 14? Are you then for abolishing the juviniille justice system and try everyone as adults?
His parents hid the facts from the law so he didn’t even go into the juvenile justice system did he? Nope parents committed another crime covering it up – what a family
I don’t think Megan’s law applies to minors. Do you want it to?
“In my life today, I am so very thankful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.” – A blatant attempt to beg for the sympathy of those who are Religious to forgive him and keep watching the show so his family can rake in some more cash even though HE just destroyed them. Honestly, the family hiding this from TLC when getting their show and thinking they’d get away with it boggles the mind. Sure, they didn’t want their dirty laundry aired… but this is 2015. Best to tell your own story than let the media do it.
I don’t think he revealed this incident that happened over a decade ago. Someone else did. Why would the family have to reveal something that occurred regarding minor before the show occurred?
You should be ashamed with this headline, he is a pedophile it is way worse then misconduct. Stop trying to sugar coat what he did.
This is nothing about Christians or religion of any kind for that matter so stop throwing us under the bus..I admit I loved this show and watched every week waiting on the next week to roll around..I think it’s a show that needs to be looked at for sure..Daddy never works n of course mom has her hands full with babies so how do they survive. This young man yes I think should answer for what he has done but I also think his family home should be looked into also. Here he is married with young children and one is a little girl and expecting another little girl..are these two babies gonna be safe whose to say he won’t or should I say done it time and time again to others that just have never come forward?? Mom and Dad have surprised me they both knew then and now that this young man should have gotten the punishment he deserved and gotten some kind of help besides sweeping it under the rug and moving on!!!! I feel sorry for his wife and family cause these people try to live right and have morals and try to bring it into our homes but to know that they knew all of this is sad….IT WILL NEVER BE VIEWED IN MY HOUSEHOLD AGAIN EVER!!!!!! I REALLY HOPE THIS YOUNG MAN GETS HELP AND ITS NOT TO LATE WITH THE ONE DAUGHTER HE HAS…I DO PRAY THAT GOD WILL BE WITH ALL OF THEM THRU ALL OF THIS IN THE DAYS AHEAD..
It’s ALL about religion and the hypocrisy of the religious right – it’s them that make everything about religion and you can’t exempt yourself when it’s convenient – it is all about christians and religion and hypocrisy!!!
I have never like people that parade around like they are so righteous and have some kind of hotline to God that he listens to every request or prayer they have. I often wondered, how they support all these kids and where their money comes from. It is not humanly possible for 2 adults to personally raise that many kids!!! What happens is the older children end up being parents instead of being children. The Duggars think that God shines on them because they have given birth to so many children when in reality, they have robbed their children from having a childhood. The entire house is focused on daily chores and events. For those reasons I have never watched the show after I first viewed it a few years ago. As far as the situation with the oldest son Josh….the cover up is way worse than the story!!! He was a young teenager with hormones raging and no sense of direction. All he saw was that God LOVES people that have sex. He is not a pedophile, he is not a sex offender, he was a misguided teenager that as an adult understands that was not proper behavior! It would have been an simple story if his parent didn’t cover it up for the lust of money. They had to keep it quite so they could keep their TV show and make enough money to provide for this massive family they had. Personally I am glad that the show is off the air, I think it sends the wrong message in so many ways to young people. They paraded around like they were a perfect family with all perfect people in it. Here’s a news flash Duggars….good only made on perfect person and we crucified him!!! Maybe you should read that bible that you constantly thump!
I don’t know where you are coming from, but I was oldest in my family of 5 children. Father and Mother would go to town on Friday, if father not working, and I was in charge of seeing my siblings did their chores, not assigned on paper but just automatically part of family and assumed by each child as they grew. Did not rob me of any childhood experiences, but it did teach me responsibility and to look out for others. Trouble in today’s world is that too many who have never had children, but HAVE BOOK LEARNING, tend to be overbearing and believe they know so much more than others. Common Sense is developed by experience, and too many people today, do not project any common sense. We are all adults, and have children of our own, and none of us have been arrested, jailed, or committed a crime.
Correction below: GOD only made one perfect person and we crucified him!!!
How times have changed. Back in the 30s and 40s, sex was for adults, and no one talked about it, at least to children. Books about sex arrived in plain brown wrappers, usually ordered by parents, to give to child. Avoid embarrassing mother or father, since there was no way to know how child would accept information. Riding school buses, older boys and girls told sexual jokes. Only later, we realized this was probing to see who would accept pass, or even participate. These were all children at the time, and the ”holier than thou’ now are gossiping. Want to label pedophile. Are you kidding? I don’t think so. I think the PC crowd is really titillated by this, as seen by some of the postings? You should be ashamed of yourselves. How many of you played “doctor with younger girls, or boys, in your youth? FINAL THOUGHT: Consider the ages of the family, and shut your gossiping mouths. They were all children, with natural curiosity.
Have read the other postings. We all go through life, living our own experiences, in our own way. Each of us develop different ideas, and wife and I noted, that with all 3 of our children raised in same household, with births in 53, 55, 59, all 3 of them have different personalities and ways of handling their own lives, and children. Way it is supposed to be. Religion to each, is as what they need, and what satisfies them. Same as it was for my spouse and me. When others start telling us what we should do, or think, it is time to tell those folks to go pester someone else. None of us can set rules for others, unless we are assigned or elected as judges, and have authority over others. Even then those instructions are not always followed, as we see in our court systems every day.