Back in May of 2015, the world was shocked to learn that beloved Duggar family of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting had spent the better part of a decade concealing a terrible secret:
On more than one occasion, eldest son Josh Duggar molested five young girls, four of whom were his sisters.
Astonishingly, the bulk of the family’s outrage in the weeks after the revelation was directed not at Josh, but at the law enforcement officials and news media that unearthed his crimes.
Last month, we reported that victims Jill, Jessa, Jinger, and Joy-Anna Duggar are suing police releasing reports detailing Josh’s now-admitted molestation of his four siblings.
The siblings also plan to go after In Touch magazine, which was the first media outlet to publish those reports.
Experts have long predicted that the Duggars would make such a move in an effort to protect their family secrets from further encroachment, and the four women made it official when they filed suit in Springdale, Arkansas on May 18.
What was far less anticipated, however, was perpetrator Josh’s decision to follow his sisters’ lead and file a lawsuit of his own.
Yes, TMZ is reporting today that Josh is suing police and city officials for releasing documents pertaining to his child molestation case.
In a move that would almost be humorous if it weren’t so revolting, Josh is playing the victim and claiming that police traumatized him by allowing news of his sex crimes to go public.
Documents filed by his lawyers argue that Josh has been “victimized and forced to relieve the painful and difficult circumstances of a traumatic experience as a juvenile.”
Like his sisters, Josh is seeking damages from Springdale, Arkansas police, city and county prosecutors and the publishers of In Touch.
Unfortunately for Josh, he might end up dredging the whole hideous case back into the spotlight, only to have the plaintiffs get off on a technicality.
Josh’s lawyers are clinging to the argument that it was unlawful for police to release the documents because Josh was (just barely) a minor when the crimes were committed.
As city officials have pointed out in the past, however, he was not a minor when Springdale police complied with In Touch’s Freedom of Information Act request.
One would think that Josh would prefer be attempting to move on from all this ugliness rather than taking such a tremendous chance on a cash grab.
But then again, of all the things Josh Duggar has been accused of, being especially bright is not one of them.
Watch Counting On online to marvel at how a family with so much darkness manages to maintain a facade of sweetness and light.