As we all know, it would be a travesty of the highest order if those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 go to jail while those who incited them and those who funded the events leading up to the insurrection escape justice. It’s entirely possible a similar travesty may be playing out with the Josh Duggar saga.
Based on the evidence as publicly reported, it looks like Josh is heading to prison for receiving and possessing child porn. Specifically, based on how I crunched the numbers at the Sentencing Guidelines Calculator, he’s presently looking at 11 to 14 years in prison. However, I’d be surprised if a superseding indictment doesn’t come down before Josh goes to trial in July. Combine that with the likelihood that Josh will breach his bond conditions. Remember, he was caught evading a program that was intended to help him kick his addiction to porn—so how can he be expected to live up to the terms of his bond?
But barring a dramatic turn of events, it won’t really be justice. After all, Jim Bob and Michelle’s utter failure as parents put Josh on a path that could end his life as he knows it if he’s convicted—and yet, it’s possible they may never have to answer for it in this world.
Let’s review. There is strong circumstantial evidence that Jim Bob and Michelle covered up an outrageous case of child neglect. Remember, Josh spent most of his childhood in a house that was built for a maximum of six people, but had as many as 18 people crammed into it. There were only three bedrooms, so boys and girls had to sleep in the same room—and sometimes in the same beds.
When I first read about this in a 2015 Inquisitr article, I thought that Jim Bob and Michelle’s slow-walking of Josh’s teenage molestation incidents was merely an egregious lapse of judgment. After all, considering the fundified bubble in which they lived, it’s possible they didn’t know that even one case of improper touching should be a “break glass” moment. However, even if you accept that argument, there was no defensible reason for Jim Bob and Michelle to sit on their hands after Josh fondled a family friend who was babysitting his sisters—meaning that his fondling of Joy should have never been allowed to happen. Any talk of keeping your kids from getting a record should go out the window when a third party is involved.
But that Inquisitr article changed everything. Any reasonable parent would know that boys and girls should never share the same room if there is questionable behavior. Moreover, Jim Bob and Michelle were knowingly flouting safe occupancy limits for that house, and sat on their hands even though they had the means to get better housing.
This Inquisitr article dropped four months after prosecutors said that they didn’t prosecute Josh for his teenage misdeeds because the statute of limitations had run out. Specifically, the clock started after Jim Bob sent Josh to a family friend, Arkansas state trooper Jim Hutchens, for a “stern talk.” Hutchens never reported Josh’s incident to the state child abuse hotline even though he is mandated to do so. By the time an anonymous tipster alerted Springdale police, the three-year window had run out.
To my non-lawyer’s mind, you would have thought the appalling child neglect revealed by Inquisitr would have triggered a renewed investigation. After all, any competent investigation of Josh’s teenage misdeeds would have delved into the Duggars’ living situation. As we all know, years of precedent hold that statutes of limitations don’t apply when a defendant engages in fraudulent acts. You would have thought the appearance of covering up child neglect would meet that standard.
But apparently prosecutors didn’t see it that way. And if that’s the case, then there’s no longer any doubt in my mind—there should not be a statute of limitations for sex crimes, especially child sexual abuse. As we all know, societal taboos and a number of other factors can keep victims from coming forward before the clock runs out. Remember, we’re dealing with a hyperfundamentalist culture where victim shaming and victim blaming run rampant. According to Wende Benner of Homeschoolers Anonymous, the Duggar girls were almost certainly told that they had somehow “defrauded” Josh by stirring up lustful thoughts in him.
Let’s be clear. The powers that be need to find a way to keep Josh in prison for as long as legally possible if he’s convicted. After all, it has been amply established that he does not belong within an area code of children. But this all started when Jim Bob and Michelle didn’t make a number of decisions they should have made, a number of decisions they were legally required to make. The prospect that they could avoid answering for it in this world is so damn obscene that I’m at a loss for words—in English or French—to express it. To my mind, ending statutes of limitations for sex crimes would go a long way toward preventing a next time for this.