JIM BOB AND Michelle Duggar – formerly of reality show 19 Kids and Counting – gave an interview to Fox News last night about their son’s admissions of child molestation, prompting fresh criticism of the family.
The show, which charted the lives of the ultra-Christian family, was pulled from American TV last month after 27-year-old Josh Duggar admitting child molestation.
The oldest of the Duggar children to appear on the show said he “acted inexcusably” and the programme’s broadcaster TLC said it was “deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation”.
Duggar was accused of fondling five girls in 2002 and 2003 when he was 15.
Interviews
His sister, Jessa Duggar, also told Fox that she had been a victim of her older brother.
Telling host Megyn Kelly she wanted to defend him, she said allegations he was a child molester or pedophile are “so overboard and a lie”.
The Duggar parents said Josh Duggar, who’s now 27, fondled four of his sisters and a family baby sitter when he was a teenager and confessed to them.
The fondling was done over the girls’ clothes and, except in two cases, happened when the girls were asleep, Jim Bob Duggar said.
“He’s very sorry,” Michelle Duggar said in the interview, wiping away tears.
She said the fondling devastated her and her husband and made them question whether they had failed as parents.
Arkansas police last month said they had destroyed a record outlining a nearly decade-old investigation into Josh Duggar.
No charges were filed in the abuse, which happened in 2002 and 2003. Police began investigating the abuse in 2006 when tipped by a family friend but concluded the statute of limitations had lifted.
Jim Bob Duggar said that before that investigation he had taken Josh Duggar to a Christian counselor and separately had him tell the stories to a state police officer near their home.
“We had all resolved it, we had forgiven, we had moved on in life,” Michelle Duggar said.
“19 Kids and Counting” is one of TLC’s most popular shows, coming off a season of strong ratings after featuring the weddings of Jessa Duggar and Jill Duggar.
The network has said no decision has been made about whether the series will continue.
Jim Bob Duggar said the family is “fine whether they film us or not.”
“We’re just going to go on and live life,” he said.
We’re going to go on and serve God and make a difference in the world.
Michelle Duggar said her daughters “have been victimised more by what has happened in the last couple of weeks than they were 12 years ago because, honestly, they didn’t even understand and know that anything had happened until after the fact when they were told about it”.
The interview with the Duggar parents prompted some criticism on Twitter, as it was shown.
Jim Bob Duggar is a former state representative in Arkansas.
Some of the state’s Republicans, including presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, have expressed support for the family.
With reporting from Associated Press.
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