Duggar-Backing Senator Wants Police Chief Out — Says He’s Afraid She’ll Release More Records

Since Josh Duggar’s police record, which showed allegations that the 19 Kids And Counting star had sexually assaulted five young girls when he was a teenager, has been released, there’s been much debate over whether the record should ever have been made public at all. Minors’ records aren’t automatically sealed upon the offender reaching adulthood, though, and in response to the Freedom of Information Act request, the Springfield, Arizona, police department handed over the records. Now, an Arizona senator wants the Chief of Police out of office.

Josh Duggar reportedly molested five girls twelve years ago — girls whose ages are said to have ranged from five to twelve years old at the time. Rather than report the crime, when Duggar’s parents found out, they apparently covered it up.

Now, some say that for the sake of the victims, the media (and everyone else) should shut up about Josh Duggar. There are even contentions that Josh is a victim himself — of a court system that failed to seal his juvenile record. This is a misunderstanding of the system, though; juvenile records are not sealed automatically. NOLO explains that this process requires the offender to submit a petition after coming of age.

Even then, the record is still available under certain circumstances, including to law enforcement and, in some cases, insurance companies.

Thus, the move to actually destroy Josh Duggar’s record is particularly startling — leading some to speculate on the judge’s alleged ties to Mike Huckabee, who has remained supportive of the Duggar family.

Now, though, according to News 5, Arizona Senator Bart Hester says that isn’t enough. He’s calling for Police Chief Kathy O’Kelley to be fired — despite the fact that O’Kelley was required to release the records under the Freedom of Information Act legislation, and that she did so only after consulting the City Attorney, Ernest Cate, and determining that she was indeed required to do so.

Though Senator Hester says he’s concerned that the names of other victims will be released, it should be understood that the Springfield Police Department did not release the names of Duggar’s victims. Those were redacted from the crime report — as a matter of fact, so was Josh’s.

Unfortunately, the Duggar family’s fame means that their names are all well-known, and with ages, dates, information like “female sharing residence” it didn’t take long for those who wanted the identities to find them. Thanks to internet postings from other Quiverfull families who know the Duggar family, those who have sought it have even taken an educated guess at who the fifth victim may be.

However, it cannot be clear enough that the Springfield Police Chief did not release a report identifying underage victims — this information only came about through the Duggar’s high level of publicity, and information shared by individuals who know the family. Unless the victims Senator Hester is concerned about are also victims of someone who, like Duggar, is high-profile enough for his victims’ names to easily be guessed at, it’s unlikely that there is any real risk.

Still, Hester says that the Police Chief has “re-victimized” Duggar’s victims, that the city will surely face lawsuits, and that the Chief will face criminal charges. He believes that all victims of child sexual assault should now be worried that Chief O’Kelley will release their names — again, a thing she did not do in the Duggar case.

Springfield Mayor Doug Sprouse agrees with the City Attorney, though: the law required the records to be released. Duggar has since responded to the allegations by saying he “acted inexcusably” and risked “ruining [his own] life” with his actions — while his parents say he “made some very bad mistakes.”

The official Duggar family blog cheered the Senator’s words, saying Hester “backs the Duggars.”