When allegations that 19 Kids and Counting’s Josh Duggar molested five young girls took the nation by storm last week, many of us were astonished.
Not Alice.
Their conservative political views have always been controversial, but to fans and critics alike, the Duggars personified modesty, faith and family.
How quickly that image has been tarnished since Josh, 27, admitted he "acted inexcusably" as a teenager, having allegedly abused his own sisters.
Rumors of the former Christian lobbyist's past are nothing new, though. In fact, a commenter named "Alice" made the claims on ibiblio (dot) org in 2007.
Alice gave a thorough, detailed account of events that are nearly identical to those outlined in Josh Duggar police report that became public this week:
"In January, the whole family went to Chicago and taped Oprah Winfrey show ... As you may have noticed, that show never aired and it never will."
Alice then dropped the bombshell that The Oprah Winfrey Show staff members had been told that Josh had molested five minor girls. She writes:
"Yes, this is the truth ... They have been investigated to some length."
While parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar "call their son 'Precious Josh' and in their eyes he can do no wrong," Alice says they covered all this up:
"They have lied and lied about their son to protect him. In my eyes he is a CHILD MOLESTOR. HE SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE HOME."
"If you don’t believe me, contact the Arkansas State Police Child Protection Agency and the Washington County Child Protection Agency in Fayetteville."
"It will be worth the time and effort to read all about it."
"People, trust me or not. I know this for a fact," Alice urges. "God's honest truth that the molestation happened ... 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? They wouldn’t have the things that they do."
Other sites such as the popular Duggar watchdog FreeJinger (dot) org, named for younger sister Jinger Duggar, have long cited Alice's comments.
Alice's story has now been more or less confirmed, with shocking accuracy; Oprah and her production company, Harpo, have yet to comment.
The police report was recently expunged by a judge, ensuring that we will never know the names of Josh Duggar's alleged molestation victims.
Still, the family will never be looked at the same way again.
"I hurt others, including my family and close friends," said Josh, who sought treatment as a sexual deviant but was never charged, in a statement.
"I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing."
"My parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling," he said, so as to avoid going down this dark, disturbed road.
Josh has resigned from the Family Research Council, and TLC pulled 19 Kids and Counting off its schedule but has not officially canceled the show.
Give it time.
http://ce.ivyrc.com/josh-duggar-molestation-details-posted-on-blog-eight-years-ago/