Do all police reports fall under the freedom of information act? The sensational aspects of this story have glossed right over that if that’s the case. There should be better protection for victims. It’s sad but this type of sexual molestation is pretty common. The redactor in this case did a poor job of protecting the victims identities.
I believe public records are just that… public records. If charges are dropped and a person has the record expunged, then no, it would not be available for public release, as it would essentially not exist. However, at some level, top security folks can still access “expunged” records, So they aren’t really completely “gone”.
Bumping up a bit for a reminder of the Fox News interview if you intend to watch and discussion following. 
Well, I was a bit fortuitous in my earlier post about the NHL playoffs starting tonight, and maybe that brought Chicago some luck, because they will indeed be playing for Lord Stanley.
They should give you a kickback for that teriwtt
Does anyone know what time tonight’s interview is on?
HarvestMoon1: This infuriates me. Can you imagine the message that is being sent to this young girl? So she endures the molestation and then has to protect him by signing an affidavit destroying the report and having his record expunged. I do not know how these people live with themselves.
How do you know she didn’t voluntarily protect him? You don’t. Maybe the girls want to let it lie and stop the press from dredging it all up, re-victiming them again.
Posted this in another thread, as someone tried to compare aspect of the Caitlyn Jenner thread to this one. Has anyone else seen this little gem? http://www.rawstory.com/2015/06/duggar-family-pastor-likens-caitlyn-jenners-sins-against-god-to-abusing-children-and-family-members/
It scares me that people efen think like this, let alone say it aloud. .
Josh and 5 year old Joy-Anna.
I guess this is a preview of the Megyn Kelly interview in a sense:
She may be “tough, fair & balanced,” but I find her insufferable.
@TranquilMind – You are right I don’t “know” but reasonable people can come to reasonable conclusions based on what we do “know” and what the record shows. The victims in this case were never given the benefit of any professional counseling and the whole matter was swept under the rug to protect Josh Duggar. As far as I know those 2 things are facts. Most reasonable people looking at this case have come to similar conclusions. Please do not try to tell me that the Duggar girls are given any freedom to think for themselves. No college, no jobs outside the home (except church affiliated) and then married to partners chosen by their parents who have the same religious affiliations and lifestyles.
Be real, with that TV empire at stake the pressure exerted to make this go away must have been intense.
Can you enlighten me as to what about this you find “insufferable”? I thought the above linked clip was accurate and I look forward to this interview.
For one thing, she raises the very interesting question of why nobody is even questioning how/why the sealed records of a juvenile being released is okay…
Good grief.
@Harvestmoon1: The girls allegedly received “counseling,” though I don’t know if it was “professional,” religious, or something else. And all of the instances of abuse occurred years before the TV series had begun, so the “pressure to make this go away” was certainly not a result of the existence of the series.
I hope the interview is legitimate and that it’s more than Michelle whispering how they turned to God.
She rails against the “liberal press” for capitalizing on this story, but how is that any different than what she’s doing? How is she not exploiting these poor little girls by continuing to keep the story in the headlines?
And bringing up the accusations of Bill Clinton’s past infidelities and “rapes”? Really? Was he ever accused of molesting little girls?
I find her tone, in general, haughty and condescending. You don’t have to agree, but I’m entitled to my opinion.
@churchmusicmom, do you think this family should have been followed by child protective services after Josh’s confession? Regardless of how the news came out, the most offensive thing I’ve seen in all this is how the family appears to have evaded supervision.
Yes, that was really ridiculous. Never mind that at least one candidate jumped to support the Duggars in a very us-vs-them manner AFTER the revelations.
It’s been stated several times that there were no “sealed records” released because it never went to court. I’m not stating this as fact, only what I’ve read here. It never went beyond a police report, did it? With all names of minors redacted? That was part of the “public record,” which was legally obtained by virtue of a request citing the Freedom of Information Act? Wasn’t it only after the fact of it being widely reported that some of the police reports were effectively destroyed? I haven’t kept up with all of the developments, obviously.
I actually think that the records of juveniles in Arkansas are never to be included in FOIA requests. Someone here showed me a statute, but I have to re-look for it. Will do so.
Thing is…Josh wasn’t a minor when the abuse was reported. I don’t practice law in Arkansas and haven’t looked at the statute, but…as I understand it, the Oprah show contacted the authorities in 2006. At that time, Josh was NOT a minor. In responding to the allegations, the Duggar family said that there had been abuse, but it happened much earlier.
My hunch is that since the investigation was of an adult, not a minor, it does not get the same protections against disclosure it would have received if Josh had been a minor at the time of the investigation.
If someone accuses me as an adult of embezzling funds from a business and I respond that I did, but a long time ago when I was a minor, my statement may not be protected because I’m making it as an adult.
Again, I’m just guessing, but…that’s my guess.
@VeryHappy if the girls had received professional counseling it would have been legally incumbent on those professionals to report the alleged abuse. And we all know that the matter remained hidden until the anonymous email to Oprah in December of 2006. The only reporting done at the time of the abuse was to a friend of the Duggars who was in law enforcement and he decided not to further the matter.
But more importantly, the Order of Expungement executed by Judge Zimmerman was signed on May 21st of THIS YEAR. The same day that a FOIA request was submitted by the media. That Order was accomplished by submitting a request by one of the victims. So yes, I believe there was quite a bit of pressure applied to conceal whatever they could about the particulars of this case.