Fox News confirmed today that Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald were two of Josh Duggar’s molestation victims. Both women will speak out about their experiences and healing processes in interviews with The Kelly File‘s Megyn Kelly.
“Megyn Kelly spoke exclusively with parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, as well as two of the victims, their daughters Jessa and Jill, regarding their son’s molestation allegations,” Fox said in a press release today.
Ahead of the interview, the network also released the first clip from Megyn’s discussion with Jim Bob and Michelle.
“There was so much grief in our hearts,” Michelle said. “I think, as parents, we felt, ‘We’re failures.’ We’ve tried to raise our kids to do what’s right – to know what’s right – and yet one of our children made some really bad choices and I think, as a parent, just… We were devastated.”
As a newly obtained police report revealed earlier today, Josh first confessed to molesting his sisters “four or five times” while they were sleeping in March 2002. It’s unclear if his parents took any action at that time, but Josh further admitted to touching a female family friend in July 2002.
Speaking to investigators in 2006, Jim Bob said he then “disciplined” Josh. Sadly, that didn’t put a stop to it — and Josh allegedly molested a young sibling in March 2003. Only then did the family send Josh to a Christian treatment program and share a few details about the situation with a family friend who was working as a state trooper. The state trooper gave Josh a “stern talk,” but didn’t report the allegations. Because of Jim Bob and Michelle’s failure to report the molestation, legal experts said they likely broke Arkansas’ law about permitting the abuse of a minor. The state trooper also broke the law.
The first part of the Duggars’ interview with Megyn will air tonight. Speaking to The Wrap about what viewers can expect, Megyn said she tried to be fair:
When I spoke with the Duggar family, I said, ‘I am going to ask you the tough questions. You will not be getting a pass on the tough questions. But I will be fair, and you will be permitted to answer and offer context. And it will not be a ‘gotcha’ or an attempt to bring down the Duggars….That is not my role.
UPDATE In part of Jessa’s interview obtained by Us Weekly, she said the widespread criticism of Josh isn’t fair.
“I do want to speak up in his defense against people who are calling him a child molester or a pedophile or a rapist, some people are saying,” she said. “I’m like, ‘That is so overboard and a lie really.’ I mean people get mad at me for saying that, but I can say this because I was one of the victims.”
The Kelly File interview with Jim Bob and Michelle airs tonight at 9/8c. Jill and Jessa’s segment will air on Friday.
