Josh Duggar alleged sexual abuse - new developments

[Yoshimi]

His head was definitely shaved, but they shave the boys' heads at ALERT camp. Josiah spent most of 2014 with a shaved head; do we know if Josh went to ALERT around the time of Hannie's birth? (late 2005)

ALERT doesn't necessarily mean he was being punished for anything. Joe and Josiah have both been there. And there doesn't seem to be another reason for a shaved head, unless it was some Gothard badge of shame I've never heard of.

Forgot to add in my original post that apparently Josh never attended ALERT. This according to the Duggars, if I'm correct. Don't know if he went to different military style, boot camp instead.

[Zasha]

1. I don't think JB would call the cops on his own kid.

2. A case wouldn't be dropped because the arresting officer got caught in a scandal. Would it? Oops I see it was an investigator. But still? idk.

Could it be that JB was contacted by the investigator and asked to bring Josh in? The article made it seem like JB did it in response to catching Josh and discovering something bad happened but I wonder if it's pieced together wrong and it was reported and they were called in.

I would think a case absolutely COULD be buried, especially in a good old boy system that is common in many rural areas.

That said, I'm not sure if I believe this report. I do believe this type of thing is probably far more common in these fundie families than we will ever know because it is swept under the rug so effectively. (And their system doesn't exactly empower the victims. Instead I'm guessing they'd be shamed and accused of being defrauding, told to pray and given tips for preventing it happening again.)

[mirele]

Is it possible the "sin in the camp" thing is reference to this? Just speculating here. And given how freaky the Duggars are about premarital sex, I could see Jim Bob coming down hard on Josh to put him back on the straight and narrow. Whether that would include having a cop haul him off as a "scared straight" tactic, I dunno.

[ClaraOswin]

JimBob is so weird - could it be so simple as Josh being a teen and having to sneak to see another girl and then Jim Bob catches him and over reacts - because seriously JB and Michelle are just weird about things that are normal - kissing and hugging

If there is any truth to any of this...I hope it's just something like that. Josh and a girl (non-relative) around his age...messing around. But the parents freaked out because they are so messed up when it comes to sexuality.

[CorruptionInc.]

I really don't think Joshy is a sexual predator. For all his faults; can't see it.

If there was an assult and JB has tried to cover it up; that's disgusting.

Also if your son was a sexual predator; why would you give him a business, a home, all the things he needed?

[MisUndrstd]

I've done some digging around and some investigative research on the internet. There is a police officer named Sgt. Darrel Hignite. He is a Springdale police officer. But if I found that out on the internet than so could have "In Touch" magazine. Also, it says that the police officer who did the initial report and investigation was investigated for child pornography (but it doesn't give the police officers name) I've scoured the internet for a news story on this but can't find one and it would have been a very big news story... VERY BIG. I hope that Sgt. Darrel Hignite will come forward and say he never gave a statement like that to "In Touch" or any other news agency. I think there can be holes punched into the news story by "In Touch" which make is less than credible. My hope is that Josh will fight this and recover his good name.

Also, another thing that punches a hole in the story is in the article it says that the case was being investigated by the Arkansas State Police.. but I've confirmed that Sgt. Darrel Hignite (who they quote in the story) is not a State Police Officer he is a Springdale Police Officer. So would a Springdale Police Officer have any knowledge of a case that the State Police are investigating?

Another thing is IF the alleged victim a minor female's parents were involved, wouldn't they be the ones to report it to police and NOT JB, who is the alleged perpetrators father? And wouldn't the parents of the alleged victim be pushing the case to make sure it didn't fall in the cracks like it supposedly did because of the Police investigator getting in trouble for child pornography (which is unconfirmed that, that happened because I can't find a new story about an Arkansas Police Officer during that time frame and in that area of Arkansas was ever investigated for child pornography).

Also, the charge itself of 4th degree does not stand up either.

[MsSaylor]

Can anyone with former Gothard ties confirm or deny that shaving a kids head would be used as a punishment or shaming device? Those random shots of a bald Josh on that early special has always bothered me. Especially coupled with this rumor.

I absolutely can see JB trying to cover it up whether it was innocent fooling around with a similar age peer or josh actually molested someone it would be a big deal for their image. The latter would absolutely shatter their empire if substantiated.

[silverspoons]

The daily mail has picked up the story and said the officer got convicted on child pornography charges and was sentenced to 56 years. It also quotes a source that says it was inappropriate touching that was reported.

It seems like the only reality show that TLC really let go was honey boo boo and it was over something similar. I wonder if someone is trying to bring this up now to get the show cancelled or is it about 2016 political timing?

[MisUndrstd]

The daily mail has picked up the story and said the officer got convicted on child pornography charges and was sentenced to 56 years. It also quotes a source that says it was inappropriate touching that was reported.

It seems like the only reality show that TLC really let go was honey boo boo and it was over something similar. I wonder if someone is trying to bring this up now to get the show cancelled or is it about 2016 political timing?

Can you find a news story about a police officer getting convicted on child pornography charges and sentenced to 56 yrs? I can't find a news story and it seems like it would have been a very big news story.

[JenniferJuniper]

BENTONVILLE 09-09-2005 -- A veteran Northwest Arkansas police officer was arrested Wednesday after child pornography was allegedly discovered on his county computer.Joseph T. Hutchens, 54, of 128 Leicester Drive in Bella Vista was arrested on a charge of possessing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, a Class C felony. Hutchens retired after 26 years as an Arkansas trooper and had served less than a year as a bailiff in Benton County Circuit Court. He worked as a bailiff for Judge David Clinger. He was a Fayetteville police officer before joining the Arkansas State Police

Not sure the timing fits exactly ("less than a year" as a bailiff) but the story does make things more interesting. Did Jim Bob know this guy? Why go to the State Police? When did the Springdale police supposedly get involved? The Daily Mail (ugh, I can't believe I'm referencing that rag) seems to imply that they may have gotten a tip from someone about the old buried report too late to do anything about the allegations contained within it.

If it's all fabricated, it seems a bit elaborate. Something is up, but what it is ain't exactly clear.

[gemma]

Without seeing the actual report, this is still pure gossip. People have been talking about this for a while and no concrete evidence has ever popped up.

[MisUndrstd]

Not sure the timing fits exactly ("less than a year" as a bailiff) but the story does make things more interesting. Did Jim Bob know this guy? Why go to the State Police? When did the Springdale police supposedly get involved? The Daily Mail (ugh, I can't believe I'm referencing that rag) seems to imply that they may have gotten a tip from someone about the old buried report too late to do anything about the allegations contained within it.

If it's all fabricated, it seems a bit elaborate. Something is up, but what it is ain't exactly clear.

Yeah if he was a Bailiff then why would he be investigating anything? That makes no sense at all. I think there are enough holes in this story to make me question the credibility of it.

Also, since the Duggar's just came out and supported Huckabee for the 2016 Presidential Campaign, could this have something to do with it? The media does NOT favor Huckabee at all, the media would love to crucify Huckabee's campaign.

[snickerz]

Interesting. I think if the news reports were just embellishing old rumors, they would use vague things like "sources say" rather than naming names.

The way I heard it years ago, it was touching/fondling incident, possibly with a Holt girl that Josh was courting. Hopefully it was consensual, but if there were actual charges, then maybe not. Supposedly Josh was forced to stand up in front of the church congregation and confess.

[drivingmishcrazy]

True or not, but definitely if not, if I were Josh, I would be preparing some kind of statement right now. Because even if this is just a dumb rumor, it's the type of rumor that can ruin your life and make people look at you differently, and idk, maybe Josh isn't too worried about it, but I know I wouldn't want my name or my families' name associated with a rumor like that.

[MalteseBaby]

The sordid story has been picked up on the U.K. Daily Mail site. So it's now gone international ( although the Internet is international anyway).

There's a photo of pitiful pregnant Anna with her " man" and also photos of the state policeman who was sent to prison for 56 years for child pornography related to this case.

I DO believe Jim Bob reported Josh for cause, and IMO, but not factually known, the victim was likely one of his sisters, because I don't think he had access to any other girl's bedroom.

Also the U.K, article states" Jim Bob Duggar allegedly turned his son in to Arkansas State Police after 'he caught him leaving a young girl’s bedroom and learned something inappropriate happened'.

What other girl's bedroom did teen Josh have access to?

The police are now saying that the huge tragedy in all this is that the statue of limitations has now run out.

[b]A technicality (this is referencing the statue of limitations cited in a previous statement) prevented any further action,†a source told the magazine.

'That’s been the biggest regret in all of this.'

Another source backed up this story, saying; 'I saw and read the report and it clearly stated that Jim Bob brought his son Josh into the Arkansas State Police and spoke to a state trooper about Josh’s involvement in alleged inappropriate touching with a minor.' End of news facts.

My own comments to follow:

I hate fucked up Josh Duggar more than there are words in the dictionary.

Whoever Josh hurt, he got off free and clear of any charges, but the girl was still abused in some way,no one knows how deep the abuse went because he was a minor and she was a minor.

And NOW, he has children of his own to molest.

Also, I don't believe for one second that Jim Bob didn't tell Anna and her parents about this before she married Josh. Since he did the right thing about turning his son in, I believe he told the Kellers prior to Anna's deep involvement with Josh.

They've been sitting on this hoping it would go away for 10 years.

Josh is slime. A 16 year old knows to leave little girls in their bedrooms alone.

If Anna knew and married him, then I'm not sure, but it's possible that she's also a sleaze for bringing innocent children into the world and under his control. Because he's not normal.

And somewhere, a girl who is either a Duggar daughter or someone the family was close to at one time was hurt and received no justice and probably no counseling either, the fundies being what they are regarding things like professional (non- clergy) psychological help.

My statements are IMO only. The facts are the facts, though.

[JenniferJuniper]

Yeah if he was a Bailiff then why would he be investigating anything? That makes no sense at all. I think there are enough holes in this story to make me question the credibility of it.

Also, since the Duggar's just came out and supported Huckabee for the 2016 Presidential Campaign, could this have something to do with it? The media does NOT favor Huckabee at all, the media would love to crucify Huckabee's campaign.

As a bailiff he would not be involved in an investigation, but "less than a year" makes it quite possible that he was still a trooper in 2005 as the date of the article is September of '05.

I doubt this has anything to do with the "media" being out to get Huckabee via the Duggars. Not exactly a direct way to do it, not to mention the fact that these are hardly main stream American media sources.

This dirt bag, BTW, didn't get that long sentence until 2012. Habitual offender.

[JenniferJuniper]

Without seeing the actual report, this is still pure gossip. People have been talking about this for a while and no concrete evidence has ever popped up.

The Springdale cop named in the original article can very simply clear it up with a yea or nay. And if he goes with a "no comment", people are going to assume - with good reason - that it's a yea.

He's easy to find. From his Facebook page, it sounds like he and John David would be great pals.

[MalteseBaby]

Interesting. I think if the news reports were just embellishing old rumors, they would use vague things like "sources say" rather than naming names.

The way I heard it years ago, it was touching/fondling incident, possibly with a Holt girl that Josh was courting. Hopefully it was consensual, but if there were actual charges, then maybe not. Supposedly Josh was forced to stand up in front of the church congregation and confess.

I've read about the Holt girl rumors here on FJ for years. I could be wrong, but I disagree that it was her and that he made confession. I don't think think this was about her, just in the way law enforcement says they wish they could go forward with the case now, but can't. It doesn't seem to me that mutual kissing and touching between two teens of similar age would get them on Josh's butt like that. It seems to me that he hurt or otherwise exploited a much younger girl, IMO, from dealing with CPS and LE for years when child abuse victims presented to the Level One trauma center where I was a supervisor.

I don't think he made any public confession, or we would already KNOW what Josh did, and this would have been a media story 10 years ago.

Someone in that church at that time would have talked before now because the Duggars are famous and this would have been the big money story on their eldest son. And because surely someone would have been as outraged then as the law enforcement seems to be at this late date.( referencing underlined statement).

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Yeah if he was a Bailiff then why would he be investigating anything? That makes no sense at all. I think there are enough holes in this story to make me question the credibility of it.

Also, since the Duggar's just came out and supported Huckabee for the 2016 Presidential Campaign, could this have something to do with it? The media does NOT favor Huckabee at all, the media would love to crucify Huckabee's campaign.

If he had been a bailiff just under a year then he would have been a trooper at the end of 2004. But a trooper wouldn't have been investigating this unless they were the first responder to a crime scene or if the local police needed help. It could be something like JB involving his friends in order to get favors. it does seem strange that the magazine has two real police officers named if they were making it up. And with this family, they aren't the type to banish a family member. They would require repentance and that's it. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they chalked it up to boys will be boys or some other excuse. Plenty of non religious families do just that!

[JenniferJuniper]

If he had been a bailiff just under a year then he would have been a trooper at the end of 2004. But a trooper wouldn't have been investigating this unless they were the first responder to a crime scene or if the local police needed help. It could be something like JB involving his friends in order to get favors. it does seem strange that the magazine has two real police officers named if they were making it up. And with this family, they aren't the type to banish a family member. They would require repentance and that's it. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they chalked it up to boys will be boys or some other excuse. Plenty of non religious families do just that!

Besides, as Michelle explained on tonight's episode while revisiting her mowing the lawn in the bikini story, it would basically be all the girl's fault for stirring up desires in Josh. Men can't help themselves.

Whether Josh assaulted someone or not, why are these sick people on television, TLC?

[MisUndrstd]

If he had been a bailiff just under a year then he would have been a trooper at the end of 2004. But a trooper wouldn't have been investigating this unless they were the first responder to a crime scene or if the local police needed help. It could be something like JB involving his friends in order to get favors. it does seem strange that the magazine has two real police officers named if they were making it up. And with this family, they aren't the type to banish a family member. They would require repentance and that's it. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they chalked it up to boys will be boys or some other excuse. Plenty of non religious families do just that!

On Darrel Hignite's Facebook it says he has an MBA in International Business. So if he holds a Master's in International Business what is he doing as a police officer? Unless he is a reservist? There is a pic of one of his kids in an oversized police uniform.. I'm assuming it would be Hignite's. But would a reservist police officer have access to a case file from 10 yrs ago whose report was taken by a State Trooper? I don't know but if Hignite was never interviewed by "In Touch" I hope he would step forward and say so.

[lookinggoodforjesus]

I agree that religious families punish their son's less for this sort of thing.

I was good friends with a girl from a baptist family who was raped by her brother for nine years. He was five years older than her. Their parents would often leave them alone together. I won't go in to detail because it's really quite gruesome, but what shocked me, is that their parents totally forgave him. They prayed for him, and he prayed, and they prayed for her, and then mystically it was fine. Both kids ended up very fucked up, and yet the parents seemed to act like it was no big deal. No psychiatric/psychological help was sought for either of them. They never punished their son for it. Their exact wording was "he was led astray". LED ASTRAY? NINE YEARS OF RAPING HIS SISTER IS ASTRAY?

I'll stop there because it will infuriate me all over again. But my point is (and that's not the only example) that Christian families seem to really not handle abuse within their family well at all. Maybe it's too difficult a thing to think about and cope with, but they all seem to act like it's nothing. This one family that I used to babysit said it was okay. She told me not to overreact because they were kids in the bath, but... No, a boy should know not to do that to his sister. It was disgusting and totally unacceptable.

When my spouse was seven he was raped/molested/don'tknowthedetailsdon'task by three 12 year-old girls. There was no criminal investigation there, even though police were aware of it. The punishment of the girls was left up to the parents, and as far as I know, nothing much came of it. No one involved there was religious, and yet it was still not treated as a weighty subject at all. I apologize for saying that it was only religious families who did a poor job handling child/child sexual abuse. The more I think about it, I can't think of a single example where it was handled properly. I mean, I was a very twisted child but I NEVER would have done anything like that. Even at six I understood that was wrong.

Edited: For being disrespectful and too much information

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Hignite allegedly took the report 10 yrs ago, he's not just an officer commenting on an old case.

I just asked my friends husband, who is a detective, and he said that if that cop did say that "I can't comment because" statement, that that sounds like a confirmation that it happened

I know several friends who have to see their molester at family functions. Sadly it's not uncommon to just sweep it under the rug.

[MisUndrstd]

Hignite allegedly took the report 10 yrs ago, he's not just an officer commenting on an old case.

I just asked my friends husband, who is a detective, and he said that if that cop did say that "I can't comment because" statement, that that sounds like a confirmation that it happened

I know several friends who have to see their molester at family functions. Sadly it's not uncommon to just sweep it under the rug.

It seems to me if an incident like this would have happened in the Duggar home to one of the siblings the police officer taking the report would have had to call in Child Protective Services and Josh be removed from the home until after a complete investigation was done. The fact that this never went far and that the alleged victim's parents never came forward to push this case seems to lead back to the "Sin in Camp" rumors from years ago.

[JenniferJuniper]

On Darrel Hignite's Facebook it says he has an MBA in International Business. So if he holds a Master's in International Business what is he doing as a police officer? Unless he is a reservist? There is a pic of one of his kids in an oversized police uniform.. I'm assuming it would be Hignite's. But would a reservist police officer have access to a case file from 10 yrs ago whose report was taken by a State Trooper? I don't know but if Hignite was never interviewed by "In Touch" I hope he would step forward and say so.

Not all cops want to stay cops forever, but Hignite's Linkedin says he's currently a sergeant with the Springdale PD and he's been there since '98.

The alleged basic timeline appears to be as follows:

Someone (Jim Bob allegedly, but maybe not) reports an incident involving Josh and a girl in a bedroom circa 2005 to the State Police. The trooper who takes the report is named Joseph Hutchens and happens to be a former Fayetteville cop.

Hutchens either intentionally does nothing with the report or is interrupted by a sudden need to retire and become a bailiff. In September of 2005, less than a year after retiring, he is arrested for possession of kiddie porn. We don't know what, if any, investigation into the Josh allegations was done.

Some years later, someone contacts the Springdale police, (Hignite?) presumably to inquire about the old report. At that point, the statute of limitations has run on the alleged crime so no action can or will be taken by the police regardless of whether the allegations could be proven or not.

Any truth to this strange story or some version of it? Who knows, but Hignite should be able to clarify whether a report existed or whether someone smoking a lot of dope just decided to make this all up. Using real names.