A newly obtained police report from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office goes into more detail about the allegations against 19 Kids and Counting‘s Josh Duggar in the mid 2000s. Among other things, the new report reveals Josh allegedly molested his 5-year-old sister when he was 14. Jim Bob Duggar, referred to as James in the documents, was the one who told officers during the 2006 investigation.
“James said that [Josh] was reading to his 5 year old sister and as she was sitting on his lap, he had touched her breasts and vaginal area. James said that [redacted] then ran out of the room and called him and told him what he had done,” said the police report obtained by InTouch. “James also said that during this time frame, his daughter had been standing in the laundry room and [Josh] had put his hand under her dress.”
After that incident in March 2003, Jim Bob said he met with the elders from his church and they agreed it was best to send Josh to a Christian treatment program. However, the new police report is also clear in that Jim Bob was aware of the mounting accusations against Josh for more than one year before he took action. During that time, more crimes against more girls allegedly occurred. Said the report:
James said that in March of 2002 [Josh] who had just turned 14, came to him very upset and crying. James said that [Josh] had told him that he had been sneaking into [redacted, his sisters’] room at night and had been touching [redacted, his sisters] on the breasts and vaginal areas while they were sleeping. James said that in July of 2002, [Josh] admitted to him that one night as a female friend of the family’s was sleeping over, he had gone to the couch where she was sleeping and had fondled her breasts.
The police report again shows Jim Bob sent Josh to talk with Arkansas State Trooper Jim Hutchens upon his return from treatment. The officer gave Josh “a very stern talk about [what] might happen to him if he continued such behavior.” Jim Bob said Hutchens, who is now serving time in prison on child pornography charges, said “there was nothing else to do” because Josh already completed treatment. By failing to report the allegations and Josh’s confession, Hutchens broke the law.
A few notes: We made the decision to share the new police report information because it is significant in terms of Jim Bob and Michelle’s culpability. However, please do not share any possible victim names in the comments so future searches for their names don’t lead to these stories.
