Episode 150: Josh Duggar Was Protected When He Needed Help Instead

The Speaking Out on Sex Abuse Podcast

Josh Duggar is in trouble AGAIN. This time he was arrested and placed in a Homeland Security facility with two serious federal charges and no bond. His charges include receiving and possessing child abuse materials. Josh has a patterned past of abuse of minors and other sexual misconduct. When he was 14, he molested four younger sisters and a baby sitter. His parents, while calling his actions inexcusable, went on to minimize his crimes by calling them "stupid mistakes." This phrase was repeated by Josh's sisters (also his victims) Jill and Jessa.
Mike Huckabee also repeated this phrase when he came to Josh's defense in 2015, even calling Josh "good people." When the public learned of Josh's past crimes when he was a juvenile, Mike Huckabee said, " He and his family dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities. . . No purpose whatsoever is served by those who are now trying to discredit Josh or his family by sensationalizing the story. Good people make mistakes and do regrettable and even disgusting things."
It is no surprise that Josh has been empowered to abuse children, view and download images and videos of children under the age of 12 being abused, and cheat on his spouse. When accountability is low and abuse is minimized, victims are urged to forgive their abuser and move on. This is not an act of compassion for either the abuser or the victims. Josh should have gotten the help he needed when he was first caught at the age of 14. Renowned expert in the field of pedophilia, Dr. Gene Abel, says that sexual fantasies that we have as children are solidified into adulthood when they are paired with arousal. When a teen's fantasies include younger children, those fantasies are solidified well into adulthood. But Abel also says something groundbreaking: "We can change people's sex fantasies." But this only happens with great success when the person is still a minor.
This is a cautionary tale of a teenager who's life may have turned out completely different, had he gotten the proper help he needed. Now he is on a dangerous trajectory and is a 33 year old abuser.
To order Jimmy's book, The Devil Inside:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1950948617/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Photo used under Creative Commons license. Original photo credit:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/96024429@N00/17966165892
Intro--
Film Glitch by Snowflake (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/snowflake/56350 Ft: reusenoise
Outro--
I Have Often Told You Stories (guitar instrumental) by Ivan Chew (c) copyright 2013 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/ramblinglibrarian/41284