Josh Duggar’s Molestation Police Report Was Legally Obtained Under Arkansas Law


On Wednesday, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar had an interview with Megyn Kelly of Fox News regarding the molestation issue their son Josh Duggar and their whole family is facing right now. During the interview, the Duggars aired their concern that the molestation police reports were obtained illegally. Jim Bob stated that their family feels attacked.

“It’s been an unprecedented attack on our family. I wonder why all this press isn’t going after the release of these juvenile records.”

Meglyn Kelly, a former trial lawyer, also weighed in on the molestation report issue and said that “juvenile records are not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests,” the Inquisitr reported.

The Duggar family stands by their belief that the records should never have reached the public, as the victims and the perpetrator, their son Josh, were all minors when the incidents happened.

The molestation report released to In Touch on May 15 dated back to December 2006. According to the report, Josh was already 18-years-old when the report was filed. The incidents may have happened when he was still a minor, but at 18, Josh was already considered an adult when the police report was filed four years after the incidents occurred, according to Perez Hilton.

When cases are filed, one of the determining factors that are considered if the report should remain sealed is the date of the filing. Juvenile records are typically sealed, but since Josh Duggar was not a juvenile at the time of the filing, the molestation reports remained open.

Based on Freedom of Information Act in Arkansas, the molestation documents of Josh Duggar were legally obtained. Some of the exemptions to the rule include income tax records, medical records, and grand jury minutes. In addition, as BuzzFeed reports, the Supreme Court also stated that records of juveniles who are not charged for the crime they committed will remain public. No charges were filed against Josh Duggar as the statute of limitations had already lapsed at the time when the molestation report was filed.

After the release of the molestation report, a judge demanded the police destroy the reports, saying that one of Josh’s victims is still a minor. However, Attorney John Tull of the Arkansas Press Association stated that the reports were obtained legally and the court does not have authority to demand such a request.

“These are police records, not court records, so I don’t believe the court has authority to order destruction of the records, nor do I think that the police department has any alternative but to release the records pursuant to the Freedom of Information.”

The Duggars are now considering if they should file a legal action on molestation documents that they believe were illegally obtained.

[Image via YouTube]

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