Summary: The sisters that Josh Duggar allegedly molested do not want him joining their privacy lawsuit against In Touch magazine.
The Duggar sisters don’t want their brother Josh to be a part of their privacy lawsuit. In May, the girls filed a suit against Springdale, Arkansas; Washington county in Arkansas, local police, and In Touch for publishing police documents that detailed their sexual abuse as children at the hands of their eldest sibling.
The articles in question were released in May of 2015, and they said that Josh Duggar had molested his sisters Jill, Jinger, Jess, and Joy Duggar. The sisters told E! News in May that they filed their lawsuit to protect victims of abuse.
“This case is solely about protecting children who are victims of abuse. Revealing juvenile identities under these circumstances is unacceptable, and it’s against the law. The media and custodians of public records who let these children down must be held accountable. This case has vast implications for all our children. We hope that by bringing this case to the public’s attention, all children will be protected from reckless reporting,” the Duggar sisters said.
In the lawsuit, the sisters said that in 2006 the police investigated Josh’s conduct when the four girls were underage. They said they were told the reports would only be available to child services and law enforcement and not to the public.
The Duggar sisters said In Touch filed a request for the police documents under the Freedom of Information Act and published at least eight stories about the investigation. The girls said that their privacy was violated.
In June, Josh revealed that he wanted to join his sisters’ lawsuit, but E! said that the girls filed a motion to deny his request.
“Deciding claims based on protecting victims of sex crimes from disclosure, while at the same time, having those claims consolidated with the perpetrator of those crimes will be confusing to the jury,” the documents state. “It would be next to impossible for a jury to ignore the perpetrator sitting next to the victims, yet decide the different issues, different claims and different damages that apply for victims as compared to the perpetrator. Consolidation would undoubtedly give the false impression that the victims and the perpetrator are ‘in this together.'”
The judge has yet to rule on the girls’ request, which stated, “Forcing the victims to join their claims with their perpetrator’s claims would further traumatize the very victims Arkansas law is designed to protect.”
The Duggar family starred in the reality series 19 Kids and Counting, which aired from 2008 to 2015. The show followed the antics of a religious family led by patriarch James Robert Duggar who had 19 children with his wife Michelle.
The show was a huge hit for TLC but was taken off of the air after it was revealed that son Josh had molested his sisters and was a member of the adultery website Ashley Madison.
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