The people who are defending Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar either don't know or don't understand that there is a name for what they did by slow-walking the reporting of Josh's actions--child endangerment. Last I checked, child endangerment is a serious crime--and in this case, several times more serious than anything Josh did. There's only one way to right this wrong--a criminal investigation. The prosecutor down there needs to investigate both the Duggars and the elders of their church to see if their actions amounted to criminal misbehavior.
Let's consider what we know about this case. Even though Josh's actions went light years beyond what can reasonably be considered childhood experimentation, Jim Bob and Michelle waited a year before telling anyone--and only after a second incident happened. They then went to their elders, who waited another three months before sending Josh to a supposed counseling program. When Josh came back, they went to a state trooper friend of theirs who only gave a stern lecture to Josh--though he now admits he should have reported it right away. When a formal investigation was launched in 2006, the Duggars' failure to cooperate partially contributed to it foundering when the statute of limitations ran out.
This is unacceptable. This is dangerous. This is something that no civilized society can tolerate. Any other parents or church officials who did this would have long since been arrested and charged by now. This is no different. Washington County prosecuting attorney Matt Burrett needs to launch a criminal investigation--if for no other reason than to restore confidence in the system. In the unlikely event that there is a statute of limitations, it shouldn't apply because the Duggars' failure to report Josh's actions appears to be the definition of fraudulent conduct.
Sign this petition to tell Burrett to investigate the Duggars and their elders. At the very least, it will force the Duggars to answer for their actions of a decade ago under oath--even if it's only before a grand jury.