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Josh Duggar recap: Everything you need to know about the scandal – Metro US

Josh Duggar recap: Everything you need to know about the scandal

Josh Duggar recap: Everything you need to know about the scandal
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Josh Duggar, 27, blew up Facebook feeds and news headlines when InTouch reported on Tuesday that he was named as the offender in an underage sexual abuse probe; he has since confessed to touching the genitals and breasts of minors – when they were sleeping and awake – and apologized on Facebook, and resigned from his job at the Family Research Council. The magazine reported that Duggar, who is on the TLC show “19 and Counting,” allegedly molested five minors, including his sisters.

Here’s everything you need to know about the scandal.

1. Jim Bob Duggar knew about the abuse for more than a year before he spoke to police. He also told people at his church about Josh’s abuse, and they waited three months before contacting the police. He spoke to the police in 2005, but the abuse allegedly started in 2002, if not earlier.

2. Josh will not face legal consequences for his actions. He was never prosecued and the statute of limitations has run out. Jim Bob told Arkansas State Trooper, Jim Hutchens, who he knew personally. Hutchens did not take any action and in a bizarre twist, is now serving 56 years in prison on child pornography charges.

3. Oprah canceled a show with the Duggars after receiving a tip about the sexual abuse. The media superstar was set to interview the Duggars in December 2006, but canceled after receiving a tip about Josh Duggar’s sexual abuse, reports TMZ. Her production company tipped off the police and canceled the Duggars’ appearance.

4. Police are destroying all of the files on Josh Duggar’s abuse. InTouch used the Freedom of Information Act to gain access to police reports on Josh Duggar’s abuse.TMZ reports that one of Duggar’s victims has asked a judge to destroy the files on the case so she can remain anonymous. The judge signed off on Thursday.

5. Josh’s parents are standing behind him. Jim Bob and Michelle said when they found out about Josh’s abuse it was “one of the most difficult times of [their] lives” on Facebook. They wrote that it brought them closer to God and that they are “not a perfect family.”

6. Josh’s wife Anna knew about the abuse as well. Anna wrote on Facebook that Josh told her about his actions two years before their engagement. She said that Josh underwent counseling during that time and “received the help needed to change the direction of his life and do what is right.” The couple have three children together.