Josh Duggar alleged sexual abuse - new developments

[MisUndrstd]

I've been looking on the Internet and no really credible online news sources are picking this story up. It's still very limited to a few trash tabloid sites. Radar Online has a few pictures of Josh and Anna and family today walking through an airport, it doesn't say where they are flying to or where they are flying from. Anna looks really stressed out and I feel really bad for her, they are doing this to her in her 7th month of pregnancy, she doesn't need this level of stress. I hate tabloid sites, they ruin people's lives. Whatever the truth is, i won't speculate but it was 10 yrs ago and nothing came of it.

[mebeforee]

I did wonder about the legitimacy of the article, I think primarily because I had seen talk and speculation about this rumor on FJ for several years and no one had ever managed to find evidence of any kind other than old message board posts. But the article quoting a police officer gave it a little credibility, because if it wasn't accurate it wouldn't just be libel against Josh, but it would be misrepresenting another completely separate party. The Duggars are also so wealthy that it seems really risky for a proper publication to print a story like this without some concrete proof, because though I'm sure InTouch has a lot of lawyers and money for potential court settlements, I doubt they'd intentionally smear lies about someone with the resources Josh Duggar has access to.

I wonder how the Duggars will respond to this. If they don't make a statement at all, obviously it doesn't mean that Josh is guilty, but I think a lot of people take silence as admission of guilt, especially when it comes to people with the money to take a tabloid to court. But if they claim it's a lie without taking legal action, it's the same problem - people will assume they're lying to save face but that they can't disprove the article. The only way people won't walk away with that assumption (because innocent until proven guilty can only be enforced in legal terms, there's no controlling the public opinion which can be just as damaging) is if the Duggars are able to prove that this report never happened and Josh never did anything. But maybe they don't want to address a legal issue from so many years ago, since the issue has been 'over' in the family's opinion for so long. They may also have other family secrets and are afraid that pursuing legal action would result in those being revealed to the public. Because even if they're able to disprove what the article says about Josh, an investigation into the family that covers so many years would probably dig up any other unsavory things in their life. They're all about being the perfect family, any little smear might be seen as too much.

If Josh is guilty, my sympathy goes to whoever the victim was as well as Anna and their children, who were not involved but will suffer the consequences of his actions anyway. If he's not guilty, this situation will probably reveal whether the Duggar parents care more about the individual child or the Duggar brand. Every child would like to believe that their parents would stand up and defend them, especially if they are truly innocent, but that may not be what happens if the Duggars choose not to address it. I really can't decide whether it's more likely that JimBob will address the topic legally or publicly, or if they will refuse across the board to discuss what the articles are saying in the hopes it will just blow over. But Josh himself likely doesn't have the money to take anyone to court, he would have to rely on his parents or employer for it (and maybe the FRC will consider it an attack on their integrity and spend the $$ to address it legally, that's another possibility, though it seems less likely).

[eh02]

I've been looking on the Internet and no really credible online news sources are picking this story up. It's still very limited to a few trash tabloid sites. Radar Online has a few pictures of Josh and Anna and family today walking through an airport, it doesn't say where they are flying to or where they are flying from. Anna looks really stressed out and I feel really bad for her, they are doing this to her in her 7th month of pregnancy, she doesn't need this level of stress. I hate tabloid sites, they ruin people's lives. Whatever the truth is, i won't speculate but it was 10 yrs ago and nothing came of it.

If it's all untrue - and there's a good chance it is, of course - then you are right, and it's awful.

However, if it IS true, nobody is to blame for Anna's stress (or anyone else's) but Josh himself. If there is a victim here, the victim deserves someone to be held accountable (even if it's just by public knowledge and it's too late to press charges) whether it upsets others or not.

[debdynamite]

First time poster, long time reader.

I belong to a small fb group about not supporting the Naugler parents. The Nauglers are an off-grid, unschooling family from KY whose children were taken away two weeks ago. The oldest son from the dad's previous relationship is alleging abuse.

Here are comments one of the group's members posted today concerning this story. I have no idea if they are true or not.

First comment:

"This is only marginally related but I know it would be of interest to you all (admins, if I need a wrist-slap or booty-kick, I understand). *** TRIGGER WARNING: sibling sexual abuse mentioned in the Duggar family ***

This story broke this week... funnily enough, I had just been thinking today of telling you all about something one of my friends told me a few years ago. This friend is one of 11 grown children in a family that is very influential in the Christian homeschool/quiver-full/patriarchy "movement" and knows the Duggars well.

My friend told me (several years ago, and this had happened several years prior) that Josh Duggar, the oldest Duggar son, had been found to have been molesting three of his sisters, and that it had been going on for quite some time before he was caught. This article doesn't say who the victim was, but I am 100% sure it was one (or three) of the Duggar girls. They decided not to pursue charges and go public with it because it would hurt their "ministry."

Soooo, even in a family that seems to have it all together (for being a ridiculously large family), all is not perfect as it's portrayed on TV (but then, we already knew that). BTW, the info that Josh's victims were his own sisters stays here, please (although I'm sure that will come to light eventually)."

Then she posted:

" I don't remember when their show began, but this was back in 2005, so it was before they were as famous as they are now. From what I understand, they started trying to marry Josh off very early on (even for a Duggar) but his first girlfriend/fiancee broke it off when she found out about the molestation. :sigh:"

And then:

"I don't know anything about the free jinger site or whether it's true that Jim Bob turned his son in. But Josh did indeed molest three of his sisters. That's not from some random fraud out there; this was shared by the Duggar family to the family I know. The family I know would most definitely NOT make up anything like that... they are friends with the Duggars and it was very painful for them to hear that this happened."

And then:

"I've had insomnia all night and looked up the free jinger site and read the thread where they're talking about this. Apparently they've always treated it as an unsubstantiated rumor there and don't have the inside knowledge about what actually happened. (They were speculating that Josh had just messed around with his girlfriend-at-the-time etc... it wasn't that girl, nor was it "a" sister; it was several of his sisters. I've never watched the show so I don't know if it's the same girl, but he was engaged to an Arkansas senator's daughter who broke it off after the past molestation came to light."

Finally:

"Hey guys, I shouldn't have said anything because this is based on what close friends of the Duggars have said in confidence, and I feel like I've betrayed that confidence. Might ought to delete this thread. In any case, you are absolutely right, it's never wise to believe something a random person on the Internet says, including me, and obviously tabloid news sites, extremist sites with an agenda, and rumor-filled forums are always unreliable.

The reason I believe it is that I know my friend, and I know how tight her family is with the Duggars, and she would never tell me something like this unless it was 100% confirmed. The few other things like this she's told me over the years (usually some major news or scandal that was about to break) have been true every time, and if she tells me something, I know her well enough to know that it's true. BUT, I don't care whether anyone else believes it or not; in fact, probably better that you don't, since I don't want the info about the victims being three sisters to leave this "room" so to speak. Bad judgment on my part to even post this... my apologies."

[Firiel]

First time poster, long time reader.

I belong to a small fb group about not supporting the Naugler parents. The Nauglers are an off-grid, unschooling family from KY whose children were taken away two weeks ago. The oldest son from the dad's previous relationship is alleging abuse.

Here are comments one of the group's members posted today concerning this story. I have no idea if they are true or not.

First comment:

"This is only marginally related but I know it would be of interest to you all (admins, if I need a wrist-slap or booty-kick, I understand). *** TRIGGER WARNING: sibling sexual abuse mentioned in the Duggar family ***

This story broke this week... funnily enough, I had just been thinking today of telling you all about something one of my friends told me a few years ago. This friend is one of 11 grown children in a family that is very influential in the Christian homeschool/quiver-full/patriarchy "movement" and knows the Duggars well.

My friend told me (several years ago, and this had happened several years prior) that Josh Duggar, the oldest Duggar son, had been found to have been molesting three of his sisters, and that it had been going on for quite some time before he was caught. This article doesn't say who the victim was, but I am 100% sure it was one (or three) of the Duggar girls. They decided not to pursue charges and go public with it because it would hurt their "ministry."

Soooo, even in a family that seems to have it all together (for being a ridiculously large family), all is not perfect as it's portrayed on TV (but then, we already knew that). BTW, the info that Josh's victims were his own sisters stays here, please (although I'm sure that will come to light eventually)."

Then she posted:

" I don't remember when their show began, but this was back in 2005, so it was before they were as famous as they are now. From what I understand, they started trying to marry Josh off very early on (even for a Duggar) but his first girlfriend/fiancee broke it off when she found out about the molestation. :sigh:"

And then:

"I don't know anything about the free jinger site or whether it's true that Jim Bob turned his son in. But Josh did indeed molest three of his sisters. That's not from some random fraud out there; this was shared by the Duggar family to the family I know. The family I know would most definitely NOT make up anything like that... they are friends with the Duggars and it was very painful for them to hear that this happened."

And then:

"I've had insomnia all night and looked up the free jinger site and read the thread where they're talking about this. Apparently they've always treated it as an unsubstantiated rumor there and don't have the inside knowledge about what actually happened. (They were speculating that Josh had just messed around with his girlfriend-at-the-time etc... it wasn't that girl, nor was it "a" sister; it was several of his sisters. I've never watched the show so I don't know if it's the same girl, but he was engaged to an Arkansas senator's daughter who broke it off after the past molestation came to light."

Finally:

"Hey guys, I shouldn't have said anything because this is based on what close friends of the Duggars have said in confidence, and I feel like I've betrayed that confidence. Might ought to delete this thread. In any case, you are absolutely right, it's never wise to believe something a random person on the Internet says, including me, and obviously tabloid news sites, extremist sites with an agenda, and rumor-filled forums are always unreliable.

The reason I believe it is that I know my friend, and I know how tight her family is with the Duggars, and she would never tell me something like this unless it was 100% confirmed. The few other things like this she's told me over the years (usually some major news or scandal that was about to break) have been true every time, and if she tells me something, I know her well enough to know that it's true. BUT, I don't care whether anyone else believes it or not; in fact, probably better that you don't, since I don't want the info about the victims being three sisters to leave this "room" so to speak. Bad judgment on my part to even post this... my apologies."

Interesting. Does this woman also have almost unbelievable health problems and a love for all things Disney?

[twinmama]

Even if JB found Josh molesting one of his sisters, how many parents would bring the police into that situation??? I have more than one child, if I discovered something like that it would be therapy and separating them (to the point of my husband living with one and me living with the others if necessary). I really don't see them going to the police for an internal family situation, especially with their beliefs that one of their daughters probably would have tempted him into it (which makes me want to vomit).

[eh02]

Even if JB found Josh molesting one of his sisters, how many parents would bring the police into that situation??? I have more than one child, if I discovered something like that it would be therapy and separating them (to the point of my husband living with one and me living with the others if necessary). I really don't see them going to the police for an internal family situation, especially with their beliefs that one of their daughters probably would have tempted him into it (which makes me want to vomit).

I thought that too, but I guess there are certain situations where I can see him contacting authorities - like if someone outside the family (like grandma) found out and threatened to do it themselves, or if one of the victims was not a family member, something like that.

The story as a whole still seems a bit unbelievable to me, but I do find it really odd that they can't just come out and say it's a lie. What's stopping Josh from saying all the rumors are false and that he will sue these tabloids for spreading lies that he was a teenaged sexual predator?

[MisUndrstd]

First time poster, long time reader.

I belong to a small fb group about not supporting the Naugler parents. The Nauglers are an off-grid, unschooling family from KY whose children were taken away two weeks ago. The oldest son from the dad's previous relationship is alleging abuse.

Here are comments one of the group's members posted today concerning this story. I have no idea if they are true or not.

First comment:

"This is only marginally related but I know it would be of interest to you all (admins, if I need a wrist-slap or booty-kick, I understand). *** TRIGGER WARNING: sibling sexual abuse mentioned in the Duggar family ***

This story broke this week... funnily enough, I had just been thinking today of telling you all about something one of my friends told me a few years ago. This friend is one of 11 grown children in a family that is very influential in the Christian homeschool/quiver-full/patriarchy "movement" and knows the Duggars well.

My friend told me (several years ago, and this had happened several years prior) that Josh Duggar, the oldest Duggar son, had been found to have been molesting three of his sisters, and that it had been going on for quite some time before he was caught. This article doesn't say who the victim was, but I am 100% sure it was one (or three) of the Duggar girls. They decided not to pursue charges and go public with it because it would hurt their "ministry."

Soooo, even in a family that seems to have it all together (for being a ridiculously large family), all is not perfect as it's portrayed on TV (but then, we already knew that). BTW, the info that Josh's victims were his own sisters stays here, please (although I'm sure that will come to light eventually)."

Then she posted:

" I don't remember when their show began, but this was back in 2005, so it was before they were as famous as they are now. From what I understand, they started trying to marry Josh off very early on (even for a Duggar) but his first girlfriend/fiancee broke it off when she found out about the molestation. :sigh:"

And then:

"I don't know anything about the free jinger site or whether it's true that Jim Bob turned his son in. But Josh did indeed molest three of his sisters. That's not from some random fraud out there; this was shared by the Duggar family to the family I know. The family I know would most definitely NOT make up anything like that... they are friends with the Duggars and it was very painful for them to hear that this happened."

And then:

"I've had insomnia all night and looked up the free jinger site and read the thread where they're talking about this. Apparently they've always treated it as an unsubstantiated rumor there and don't have the inside knowledge about what actually happened. (They were speculating that Josh had just messed around with his girlfriend-at-the-time etc... it wasn't that girl, nor was it "a" sister; it was several of his sisters. I've never watched the show so I don't know if it's the same girl, but he was engaged to an Arkansas senator's daughter who broke it off after the past molestation came to light."

Finally:

"Hey guys, I shouldn't have said anything because this is based on what close friends of the Duggars have said in confidence, and I feel like I've betrayed that confidence. Might ought to delete this thread. In any case, you are absolutely right, it's never wise to believe something a random person on the Internet says, including me, and obviously tabloid news sites, extremist sites with an agenda, and rumor-filled forums are always unreliable.

The reason I believe it is that I know my friend, and I know how tight her family is with the Duggars, and she would never tell me something like this unless it was 100% confirmed. The few other things like this she's told me over the years (usually some major news or scandal that was about to break) have been true every time, and if she tells me something, I know her well enough to know that it's true. BUT, I don't care whether anyone else believes it or not; in fact, probably better that you don't, since I don't want the info about the victims being three sisters to leave this "room" so to speak. Bad judgment on my part to even post this... my apologies."

Personally, I think you should take this post down. Anyone can say they are friends of friends to the Duggars. Really, this is horrible and shouldn't be posted because it is unsubstantiated and could easily be untrue and because it identifies who the alleged victims are.

[Firiel]

I thought that too, but I guess there are certain situations where I can see him contacting authorities - like if someone outside the family (like grandma) found out and threatened to do it themselves, or if one of the victims was not a family member, something like that.

The story as a whole still seems a bit unbelievable to me, but I do find it really odd that they can't just come out and say it's a lie. What's stopping Josh from saying all the rumors are false and that he will sue these tabloids for spreading lies that he was a teenaged sexual predator?

The story was never mainstream until this week. Whether it happened or not (I suspect not), the are probably talking with TLC and their lawyers to figure out if it's best to address this or ignore it and hope it fades away.

[Ellimenopy]

Even if JB found Josh molesting one of his sisters, how many parents would bring the police into that situation??? I have more than one child, if I discovered something like that it would be therapy and separating them (to the point of my husband living with one and me living with the others if necessary). I really don't see them going to the police for an internal family situation, especially with their beliefs that one of their daughters probably would have tempted him into it (which makes me want to vomit).

I know a family that involved the police, but it involved a step-sibling molesting a cousin, so it wasn't as close a relation, and, of course, they weren't as religious as the Duggars.

[Hisey]

When Josh was about 20, and recently engaged, Jana said something that seemed strange to me. She said it on the air, though I don't remember the episode.

She said she'd been praying for Josh to have a relationship, that she wanted Josh to find someone, that she was so happy it had happened and that her prayers were answered.

It seemed like a very strange thing to be saying about your 20-year old older brother. Why would she be in a rush for Josh to marry? Why was it so necessary for him to do so? I mean, no one seems to be rushing JD in the same way. Why would Jana even care? And 20 is pretty young, the kid was hardly out of his teens.

My takeaway was that Josh was a young man with a very strong sex drive, and that this sex drive was causing problems for him or the family in some way. The problems were large enough so that even his little sister knew about them, and they were severe enough to cause her to pray for a wife for him.

[twinmama]

I can see why they haven't addressed the rumors this far, because talking about it or refuting it just legitimizes the claim as something that NEEDED to be denied. But now, with an actual officer's name I don't know. I won't believe it until it is proven, or if the person abused comes forward. Even if it is true, I hate that something that happened as a minor can come back to affect his entire life now. I give adult fundies NO slack, but minors... of course abuse is completely horrific and wrong, but they are NO education about that and a lot of mixed messages about sex and repression and just so much shit that a 14 year old (or whatever) can't process or seek adult help to process.

[eh02]

This quote in particular does sort of stand out:

Sgt. Darrel Hignite — identified by multiple sources as the officer who led the investigation into the allegations about Josh — told In Touch: “I can’t comment or discuss [this case] because of the sensitive nature and because it involved a juvenile.â€

Would someone in law enforcement ever risk saying something like that if it was not true? "Because it involved a juvenile" clearly seems to be confirming that there WAS a case.

[twinmama]

This quote in particular does sort of stand out:

Sgt. Darrel Hignite — identified by multiple sources as the officer who led the investigation into the allegations about Josh — told In Touch: “I can’t comment or discuss [this case] because of the sensitive nature and because it involved a juvenile.â€

Would someone in law enforcement ever risk saying something like that if it was not true? "Because it involved a juvenile" clearly seems to be confirming that there WAS a case.

The thing is, just because there was a case, doesn't mean anything happened! Accusations could have been proven false, to not have happened. This whole thing is terrible, true or not true, but for me I'm going to assume Josh is innocent until proven guilty (not by court of law, but proof). Plus he was a CHILD when it allegedly happened.

[Firiel]

This quote in particular does sort of stand out:

Sgt. Darrel Hignite — identified by multiple sources as the officer who led the investigation into the allegations about Josh — told In Touch: “I can’t comment or discuss [this case] because of the sensitive nature and because it involved a juvenile.â€

Would someone in law enforcement ever risk saying something like that if it was not true? "Because it involved a juvenile" clearly seems to be confirming that there WAS a case.

IF law enforcement DID say anything like that.

[eh02]

IF law enforcement DID say anything like that.

That man would probably have sued about 5 seconds after that story came out if they made up a quote about a crime like that.

[shard1118]

Former Arkansas State Trooper sentenced for 56 years...boom!

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012 ... rn/?latest

[twinmama]

Former Arkansas State Trooper sentenced for 56 years...boom!

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012 ... rn/?latest

[Trynn]

When Josh was about 20, and recently engaged, Jana said something that seemed strange to me. She said it on the air, though I don't remember the episode.

She said she'd been praying for Josh to have a relationship, that she wanted Josh to find someone, that she was so happy it had happened and that her prayers were answered.

It seemed like a very strange thing to be saying about your 20-year old older brother. Why would she be in a rush for Josh to marry? Why was it so necessary for him to do so? I mean, no one seems to be rushing JD in the same way. Why would Jana even care? And 20 is pretty young, the kid was hardly out of his teens.

My takeaway was that Josh was a young man with a very strong sex drive, and that this sex drive was causing problems for him or the family in some way. The problems were large enough so that even his little sister knew about them, and they were severe enough to cause her to pray for a wife for him.

It's actually pretty common in fundy/fundy lite land.

JD may not be facing the same amount of pressure because, as we all know, the Duggars have relaxed somewhat over time with the rules.

Also, Josh got married right when the show began. There may have been a rush to Marry off kids pre TLC due to financial issues, which aren't such a big concern now.

Issues of Josh aside, why the duck does the statue of limitations even exist? Seems like all it does is prevent people from getting justice and keeping these bastards around vulnerable members of society.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Even if JB found Josh molesting one of his sisters, how many parents would bring the police into that situation??? I have more than one child, if I discovered something like that it would be therapy and separating them (to the point of my husband living with one and me living with the others if necessary). I really don't see them going to the police for an internal family situation, especially with their beliefs that one of their daughters probably would have tempted him into it (which makes me want to vomit).

One possibility, if any of this is legit, for going to the police is that JB realized or was told that if he ignored the problem, he could be prosecuted for allowing the abuse to happen and failing to stop it. He could potentially have lost all the kids. If something happened, they would address it with the church and definitely not with therapy, but at some point if he thought it would come out, he could have proactively gone to the police. Maybe he had a conscience. After all, failing to protect his daughters reflects directly upon him. He's solely responsible for their hearts and purity and all that.

Any paperwork relating to this would be private so I don't know how In Touch "unearthed" or "dug up" the paperwork without it being leaked. And if they had the paperwork, wouldn't they have given out more details?

[eh02]

IF anything ends up being true, I hope it casts a dark enough shadow to finally end the TLC gravy train. The fact that Boob and Jchelle have told their daughters that "men can't control their urges" and that essentially, they themselves are responsible for someone's unsolicited sexual advances, is just that much more grim.

Anyway. It would do everyone involved a favor if they just released a statement.

[OnAndOnAnon]

I have a hard time believing these rumors are true, due to the tie to Razing Ruth and all of her nonsense. But, even if it were, I would have a harder time believing it could have been his sisters, due to the way the bedroom is set up. The girls have no privacy. They are all in one room. I find it very unlikely that anything could have happened with them all sharing a room in very close quarters.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Was "concernedmom" from that 2005 post found to be the same ip/person as "ofduggar" in the 2009 post aka razing Ruth?

[mebeforee]

See, I really have a hard time giving a tabloid of any kind credit for inside information. It seems like anyone who wanted the claim to be taken seriously would have sent their information about this report to a more credible news source, though I'm not very familiar with a lot of these sites, so maybe InTouch has done a lot of Duggar coverage and was chosen for that reason. But the fact that they named an actual officer in the area the Duggars live, and even quoted him, I can't imagine the guy (or the police department he works in) wouldn't immediately address the issue if the statement hadn't been made at all. That statement on its own doesn't indicate whether Josh is guilty of what the articles are accusing him of, but it does indicate that actual contact was made between the author of the article and the police in the area, and the interaction itself was apparently represented accurately.

IDK, it's just a little weird to me to have this thing I've assumed was complete bunk for so long be treated as a legitimate criminal act by a number of papers. But as far as I've seen, all the later articles used the In Touch one as a reference, so there's not a lot of evidence of independent research on the matter. If In Touch is lying, they're creating a huge mess for themselves with all these other publications jumping on board. If not, it's still kind of a weird thing to reconcile in my mind. Without further details it's easy to leap to all kinds of conclusions about the nature of the crime and whether it was consensual. I don't like to take other (essentially) anonymous comments on the internet as evidence to anything, and generally discount them out of hand. Any attention-seeking member of any community can attack a high-status member of that same community, without any proof but 'my highly reliable friend told me' I just can't give much credence to it. But even while I struggle to believe the sources talking about this, I also wonder why no one has come out to say 'this is a lie', especially the officer quoted, who likely hasn't had nearly as much exposure to tabloid attention as even the least interesting Duggar and probably wouldn't treat it as a garbage claim undeserving of attention.

[Ellimenopy]

See, I really have a hard time giving a tabloid of any kind credit for inside information. It seems like anyone who wanted the claim to be taken seriously would have sent their information about this report to a more credible news source, though I'm not very familiar with a lot of these sites, so maybe InTouch has done a lot of Duggar coverage and was chosen for that reason. But the fact that they named an actual officer in the area the Duggars live, and even quoted him, I can't imagine the guy (or the police department he works in) wouldn't immediately address the issue if the statement hadn't been made at all. That statement on its own doesn't indicate whether Josh is guilty of what the articles are accusing him of, but it does indicate that actual contact was made between the author of the article and the police in the area, and the interaction itself was apparently represented accurately.

IDK, it's just a little weird to me to have this thing I've assumed was complete bunk for so long be treated as a legitimate criminal act by a number of papers. But as far as I've seen, all the later articles used the In Touch one as a reference, so there's not a lot of evidence of independent research on the matter. If In Touch is lying, they're creating a huge mess for themselves with all these other publications jumping on board. If not, it's still kind of a weird thing to reconcile in my mind. Without further details it's easy to leap to all kinds of conclusions about the nature of the crime and whether it was consensual. I don't like to take other (essentially) anonymous comments on the internet as evidence to anything, and generally discount them out of hand. Any attention-seeking member of any community can attack a high-status member of that same community, without any proof but 'my highly reliable friend told me' I just can't give much credence to it. But even while I struggle to believe the sources talking about this, I also wonder why no one has come out to say 'this is a lie', especially the officer quoted, who likely hasn't had nearly as much exposure to tabloid attention as even the least interesting Duggar and probably wouldn't treat it as a garbage claim undeserving of attention.

Yeah, it's really hard, with the quote from the police officer, to dismiss it as complete fabrication. I'm more inclined now to believe that *something* happened - but what? The whole thing is just really odd. I expect that they'll have to address this sooner or later or Josh's political career will be scuttled before it even began.