Josh Duggar scandal: online comments warned about sexual abuse in 2007

It turns out that the Josh Duggar sexual abuse scandal may have been blown wide open years ago, but somehow Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar were able to keep it a secret. Not only was an appearance with Oprah Winfrey cancelled in 2006 because of it, but there were comments online about Josh possibly molesting young girls as a teen in 2007.

Josh confirmed that the InTouch Weekly report about him molesting young girls - including some of his young sisters - was true. The incidents took place between 2002 and 2003 and, as the Duggars began gaining fame with Discovery Health specials in 2005 and 2006, his parents were able to keep it a secret. Still, someone tipped Oprah Winfrey and her team off, leading to Winfrey cancelling a 2006 interview with the family. Even then, the accusations were still not made public.

Last week, Gawker’s Defamer blog dug up a 2007 comment left by a person named “Alice” on a Duggar blog post. This “Alice” even wrote that Winfrey was told about it and that TLC and Discovery Health was paying to build the huge house the Duggars called home.

“God’s honest truth that the molestation happened,” Alice wrote. “It happened to four of his 5 sisters. The oldest daughter was not touched. The second daughter is the one who caught him doing this. There was no rape involved, but molested. I could go into detail, but I won’t. Of course, you can find nothing about the charges. The Duggar’s want to keep this hid. Wouldn’t you?”

While Alice’s post didn’t get major attention at the time, it remained cited on a Duggar message board called FreeJinger.com.

Defamer noted that FreeJinger.com users have also referenced a 2005 post on a blog, which no longer exists. This post was left by a user named “concernedmom” and doesn’t directly name Josh as the abuser, but only referred to as a young man whose family was on the Discovery Channel.

17 Kids and Counting, now titled 19 Kids and Counting, premiered in September 2008 and has been one of the biggest hits in TLC’s history. It’s still on air, although TLC has pulled all repeats from its schedule.

“Effective immediately, TLC has pulled all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting currently from the air. We are deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and victims at this difficult time,” TLC said in a statement on Friday.

screenshot from SanVic YouTube video

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