During an interview with "The Kelly File" on Fox News, Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar spoke to host Megyn Kelly about the molestation scandal involving their son Josh, four of their daughters and a fifth victim, a babysitter.
During the interview, the Duggar parents stressed that the molestation involved over-the-clothing touching while the girls were asleep, but there were instances of molestation that occurred when the victims - as young as 5-years-old - were awake.
"I do want to speak up in his defense against people who are calling him a child molester or a pedophile or a rapist, some people are saying," Jess Duggar said during the interview. "I'm like, 'That is so overboard and a lie really.' I mean people get mad at me for saying that, but I can say this because I was one of the victims."
Jill Duggar also came forward as a victim. "People don't have a right to do this, we're victims, they can't do this to us," she said through tears. "And yet they did," Kelly stated. "They did," Jill replied.
Jessa Duggar followed up her sisters' emotional response with a statement echoing her father's beliefs that the system failed them, as victims, and failed their brother, Josh. "The system was set up to protect kids, both those who make stupid mistakes or have problems like this in their lives and the ones who are affected by those choices. It's greatly failed," Jessa told Kelly.
Michelle Duggar told Kelly she is upset that the safe place for her children to share and speak from their hearts was violated. She is also upset that the girls are being re-victimized, since, the Duggars maintain, the girls were unaware of the "inappropriate touching" until they were told about it after. "I think what's so devastating as a mama for me, we took our children to the safety center, the children's safety center," the Duggar matriarch said. "We trusted the police department. Our children poured out their hearts. They shared everything. And then to have their trust betrayed and for all of their information and everything they shared to be turned over to a tabloid for those things to be twisted and shared in a slanderous way. Story after story, tabloid after tabloid.
"As a mama that breaks my heart for my girls because I think is such a horrible, they've been victimized more by what has happened in these last couple weeks than they were 12 years ago because they honestly, they didn't even understand or know that anything had happened until after the fact when they were told about it. So I think there's not, in our hearts before God, we haven't been keeping secrets. We have been protecting those that honestly should be protected and now what's happened is they've been victimized by people with an agenda for whatever profit they think they're going to get. But in this, one thing I know is that God is going to use all of this for good."
Michelle Duggar became emotional when talking about Josh being removed from the house, but said that the 5-year-old victim didn't know what was going on. Kelly then asked if they felt any guilt about the babysitter - someone else's daughter - being victimized. Jim Bob Duggar said Josh had called the babysitter to ask forgiveness, but she said she also wasn't aware of what happened.
Jessa and Jill Duggar's interview with Kelly will be aired on Friday. A portion of it will explore the chances of an offender like Josh Duggar sexually abusing a female again. Kelly previewed her thoughts during Wednesday's interview: "Researchers say most young offenders are male and between the ages of 12 and 14. According to a 2009 D.O.J. analysis, long term studies have shown that some 85 to 90 percent are never arrested for sex crimes again."
For more on the Duggar scandal, check out HNGN's initial coverage of the Duggars' interview with Kelly. Also, give the "Related Articles" section below a look for previous coverage on the molestation scandal.
What did you think about the interview? Were Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar more concerned for their son at the expense of the victims or did they do the best they could as any parent in that situation? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!
