Parental Units And Other Adults Of Note

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Them Here!

[ChicksDigScars]

Here's an article about the car accident that killed the younger siblings of Toby Willis. 

 

Interesting: 

 

The Willis tragedy also exposed a political scandal in Illinois when it was learned the truck driver, whose rig lost that piece of metal, had bribed a state worker for his license. The resulting federal investigation and cover-up sent dozens of state employees to jail, including former Illinois Governor George Ryan.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

How absolutely horrible.   

[glowlights]

So I was home yesterday and watched a couple eps, and then decided to check out their website because i was curious what the father does to support 12 kids while apparently just hanging around. And I saw this in Brenda's bio:

 

A college graduate and high school valedictorian, Brenda could have worked the typical job, had the typical family and lived a successful life.  But she took the path less traveled.  She made her children her career and it shows.  She sets a high standard for other women to follow and shows how a woman really can have a successful and challenging career and family at once.

 

Ugh. Another fundie who fancies herself the supreme be-all and end-all. Ooohhhhhh, if only the rest of us measly women could live up to Brenda's high standard... roflmao

[becca3891]

So I was home yesterday and watched a couple eps, and then decided to check out their website because i was curious what the father does to support 12 kids while apparently just hanging around. And I saw this in Brenda's bio:

 

A college graduate and high school valedictorian, Brenda could have worked the typical job, had the typical family and lived a successful life.  But she took the path less traveled.  She made her children her career and it shows.  She sets a high standard for other women to follow and shows how a woman really can have a successful and challenging career and family at once.

 

Ugh. Another fundie who fancies herself the supreme be-all and end-all. Ooohhhhhh, if only the rest of us measly women could live up to Brenda's high standard... roflmao

Yep. People on the Duggar forum seem ga-ga for the Willises because they allow pants and dancing, but really, they have the same core fundie beliefs. They have made it clear that they believe women are to follow men's lead, and they practice courtship and "home churching," which in their case appeared to be one other family and them.

 

And how conceited can you get? Being an aggressive stage mom is not really something to celebrate, in my opinion. What are the odds that all 12 children have exactly the same passion to constantly practice and perform music? They were pushed into it and you can believe the parents have made a boatload of money as a result.

[SpaghettiTuesdays]

Yeah, I like this family, but I also see right through them. Also don't appreciate people who think they're so great because they made their kids famous.

[Loves2Dance]

Yeah, I like this family, but I also see right through them. Also don't appreciate people who think they're so great because they made their kids famous.

 

I like the show because I like the kids. I'm not overly fond of the parents though I appreciate that they're a bit more progressive than the typical fundie families. That being said, watching the original show versus the new show, I can definitely see that Toby made sure that he got a minor edit and I'm a little icked out by his comment about making sure his daughters are marriage ready at 18. Clearly they failed if none of the girl's have gotten married yet. 

[slasherboy]

Daddy Willis was just arrested for raping a child under 12 years old.  I just don't understand .....

[zxy556575]

Good grief. The news reports I saw say the assault was 12 years ago with an "underage" girl, but don't give her exact age. I don't want to convict him in my head without a trial, but that's very depressing to hear.

It seems like being on an "unusual family" show on TLC is almost a guarantee of criminal activity.

Edited September 10, 2016 by lordonia

[CarolMK]

Horrible to hear this news, but good grief, it took 12 years for this to come out? If he's guilty and been free all these years while making a boatload of money all these years, well...I just don't know what to say.

I saw a couple of episodes a year or two ago. Didn't care for the father at all, he reminded me of Joe Jackson, who also forced all of his kids into musical careers (all but one, I think). Very controlling, even if the Jackson 5 was very successful and popular for years, not to mention the success of Michael and Janet, I still believe being child performers damaged many of their kids.

[Fuzzysox]

12 hours ago, slasherboy said:

Daddy Willis was just arrested for raping a child under 12 years old.  I just don't understand .....

He's the article if anyone wants to read it.

http://www.inquisitr.com/3497554/toby-willis-of-the-willis-clan-arrested-for-one-count-of-rape-on-a-child/

[Sew Sumi]

I guess TN has an unlimited statute of limitations? And it's wise they're holding him without bail. He's a flight risk waiting to happen. 

I never liked the guy, over the topcontrolling, but this allegation makes me sick for the victim as well as his kids. None of the articles have made it clear whether the victim is one of his kids or someone outside the family (edit: missed that it was a girl).  Who knows who it is? They're as insular as the Duggars and Jessica just shut down her Instagram yesterday (all other Willis Clan social media has gone kaput as well).

Edited September 11, 2016 by Sew Sumi

[slasherboy]

On 9/8/2016 at 11:44 PM, Maharincess said:

 

 

20 hours ago, lordonia said:

Good grief. The news reports I saw say the assault was 12 years ago with an "underage" girl, but don't give her exact age. I don't want to convict him in my head without a trial, but that's very depressing to hear.

I probably mis-read the facts.  Thanks for clarifying.

[Marigny]

5 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

I guess TN has an unlimited statute of limitations? And it's wise they're holding him without bail. He's a flight risk waiting to happen. 

I never liked the guy, over the topcontrolling, but this allegation makes me sick for the victim as well as his kids. None of the articles have made it clear whether the victim is one of his kids or someone outside the family, but they're as insular as the Duggars and Jessica just shut down her Instagram yesterday (all other Willis Clan social media has gone kaput as well).

Didn't they arrest him in Kentucky because he had flown the coop? 

 

TLC is starting to get a reputation. Not a good look at all. 

[LazyToaster]

TLC has another VERY big problem on their hands with this one.  OMG, what a mess and SO sad for whoever was victimized. 

[Missy Vixen]

1 hour ago, Marigny said:

TLC is starting to get a reputation. Not a good look at all. 

 

They're probably hoping for higher ratings as a result. Ooops, did I say that?

[Marigny]

56 minutes ago, auntl said:

Yes, TLC is certainly starting to form a reputation. A well deserved bad reputation  - Mama June, Josh Duggar, Toby Willis, and the Meri Brown catfish scandal. It's always something with these TLC reality families.

Although I doubt it, I hope that it turns out that he didn't do it. Could someone be trying to fleece them for money?

That's always a possibility but then you have to ask why did he feel the need to run? The alleged incident(s) happened 12 years ago and you would think are harder to prove. 

[Sew Sumi]

2 hours ago, Marigny said:

Didn't they arrest him in Kentucky because he had flown the coop? 

 

TLC is starting to get a reputation. Not a good look at all. 

They had a concert in AR scheduled. HEY DUGGARS!!!!!!! 

[farmgal4]

2 hours ago, Marigny said:

Didn't they arrest him in Kentucky because he had flown the coop? 

 

TLC is starting to get a reputation. Not a good look at all. 

TLC needs to close up shop.  

[Sew Sumi]

1 hour ago, Missy Vixen said:

They're probably hoping for higher ratings as a result. Ooops, did I say that?

They've been on tour for basically 350 days this year. They talked about living in their stinkbus for the rest of the year (and this was maybe July) because they only had 12 days left where they needed a real residence. I guess they live on the stinkbus when they did the county/state fair curcuit before they hightailed off to Ireland (they must have just returned). 

Oops. 

[farmgal4]

2 hours ago, LazyToaster said:

TLC has another VERY big problem on their hands with this one.  OMG, what a mess and SO sad for whoever was victimized. 

The Daily Fail has his mugshot, and he looks like a crazed serial killer.  He seriously looks downright evil.  OMG

[junemeatcleaver]

TLC is making sure it's known they cancelled the show months ago.  It's still not a good look that they keep on giving platforms to creeps and assholes.

[Marigny]

TLC has a major PR problem on their hands. It's only a matter of time before news outlets start writing about the frequency of this type of thing happening at the same network. They've had a sex scandal associated with one of their stars every year for the last three-four years, right? 

[Tabbygirl521]

This is just hideous. I enjoyed their show but there were times when there was something that kind of gave me a bad impression of the dad. Not constantly but sometimes. I couldn't decide if his controlling demeanor was all talk , or not, since the daughters seemed free to express themselves and appeared to have some autonomy. The oldest daughter was showing some attitude toward dad at the end of the season, when he was talking about whether the family "business" could continue or not. 

Not that I want anyone to have been this creep's victim, but I really hope it was not a family member. 

I feel horrible for the family. The mom seems so nice, and the kids, too. The littlest girl is especially adorable. 

[Jeeves]

6 hours ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

This is just hideous. I enjoyed their show but there were times when there was something that kind of gave me a bad impression of the dad. Not constantly but sometimes. I couldn't decide if his controlling demeanor was all talk , or not, since the daughters seemed free to express themselves and appeared to have some autonomy. The oldest daughter was showing some attitude toward dad at the end of the season, when he was talking about whether the family "business" could continue or not. 

Not that I want anyone to have been this creep's victim, but I really hope it was not a family member. 

I feel horrible for the family. The mom seems so nice, and the kids, too. The littlest girl is especially adorable. 

^^Me too about the dad. I posted a few months ago on one of the topics here, that I generally liked the family although I wasn't feeling the love for the dad. And not even so much for the mom. I liked the kids mainly, not the parents. I can't say I thought Toby Willis was a sexual predator; I just thought he was a controlling asshole.

So, in this case TLC has already, for real - not the Faux Duggar "Cancellation"™ maneuver* - dropped the Willis Family show. I assume it was because of low ratings. Because, unlike with the Duggars, the network doesn't have years and years of episodes in the vault that they'd banked on repeating for years as a solid source of revenue, the Willises are def in TLC's rear view mirror.

*TLC wiped all 19 Kids & Counting (and other Duggar show) repeats off its schedule last spring when Joshgate 1 broke. It was between seasons anyway. A few months later when Joshgate 2 broke, TLC announced it was cancelling 19K&C. Then, it was announced there was a new! show!: Counting On. Same old sh*t, new name, less face time for the parents, none for Josh but a lot of talk about Josh. I'm convinced that if TLC had a bigger investment in the Willises they'd find a way to keep them around. Because it's all about the money.

[nutella fitzgerald]

On June 29, 2015 at 5:33 AM, Loves2Dance said:

Toby made sure that he got a minor edit

Yikes.

[NextIteration]

Dag nabbit, TLC sure can pick 'em, eh?

I refuse to be triggered this time, but these crimes especially make me rethink my position on capital punishment.

I honestly don't see how TLC can continue to shove the Duggars down the throat of America after this.

[maraleia]

This makes me hope that the Jennings family will say no to a third season of I Am Jazz. They don't need to be associated with the horribleness that is the Duggars, Willis', Browns et. al.

[TaxNerd]

Has there been any info on the charge?  It's strange to me that he could even be brought up on charges from 12 years ago, the statue usually expires.

It makes a huge difference if it was a 17 year outsider old versus an under 12 in his own family.  Neither one is ok, but I'm curious as to how he could be charged if it's the first case.

I hope they don't release the exact age of the victim so we can avoid identification like in the Duggar case (a five year old sibling),  but instead give more of a general range.

[CarolMK]

Since it was a minor, this may be why the statute of limitations has not expired. For that matter, what about the Bill Cosby case? I think all of his victims were adults and some of the charges go back 40 years ago. 

I wonder if the Willis clan band will go on performing without their father. Isn't he their manager, or is their mother also in charge of their band?

[NextIteration]

IANAL - but a quick google indicated that the old statutes (Tennessee updated them effective July 1, 2016) were that a child older than 3 but under 13 had until the age of majority plus four years, or 22.

[BetyBee]

This is disturbing news, but not surprising.  This patriarchal, fundamentalist philosophy does not bode well for women and children.  

[Cherrio]

20 hours ago, auntl said:

Yes, TLC is certainly starting to form a reputation. A well deserved bad reputation  - Mama June, Josh Duggar, Toby Willis, and the Meri Brown catfish scandal. It's always something with these TLC reality families.

Although I doubt it, I hope that it turns out that he didn't do it. Could someone be trying to fleece them for money?

I think its beyond starting.  Add in the Honey Boo Boo /Mama June /boyfriend thing and the show about cheerleaders. One of the moms was arrested for having sex with an underage boy.   Also iirc, there was a crew member with a past?

[ShaNaeNae]

16 minutes ago, Cherrio said:

I think its beyond starting.  Add in the Honey Boo Boo /Mama June /boyfriend thing and the show about cheerleaders. One of the moms was arrested for having sex with an underage boy.   Also iirc, there was a crew member with a past?

I was just getting ready to write about the Cheer Perfection mom. Andrea Clevenger is serving like 10 years for having sex with a 13 year old boy. Then the day after she got arrested, the coaches husband was arrested for getting high on marijuana in the car. Not nearly as bad of a crime as these others, the timing was just weird. 

I'm shocked about this. While Toby always seemed like a controlling curmudgeon with his mind elsewhere, I didn't expect this. 

[Zahdii]

3 hours ago, NextIteration said:

IANAL - but a quick google indicated that the old statutes (Tennessee updated them effective July 1, 2016) were that a child older than 3 but under 13 had until the age of majority plus four years, or 22.

So it could be that the victim had to reach the age of majority to file charges.  Or the victim waited as long as he or she could so they could get counseling first.  Or was waiting as long as they could to gather supporting evidence or getting a witness to come forward.

Too many possibilities to be considered.

[zxy556575]

Would TN have to prosecute under the laws that were in place at the time of the offense? If so, that would mean that the victim was 10 or younger (statute of limitations maximum of 22 years old minus 12 years ago).

The news articles have used the imprecise term "child rape." The statutes I could find are:

39-13-522. Rape of a child
(a) Rape of a child is the unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant or the defendant by a victim, if the victim is more than three (3) years of age but less than thirteen (13) years of age.

39-13-531. Aggravated rape of a child
(a) Aggravated rape of a child is the unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant or the defendant by a victim, if the victim is three (3) years of age or less.

[sleepyjean]

x

Edited September 11, 2016 by sleepyjean

[kokapetl]

I hope his children can now live their lives as they wish, not the wrestling, Irish dancing and country music life (all done in a hyper competitive manner) that he was forcing on them.

[Loves2Dance]

13 hours ago, TaxNerd said:

Has there been any info on the charge?  It's strange to me that he could even be brought up on charges from 12 years ago, the statue usually expires.

It makes a huge difference if it was a 17 year outsider old versus an under 12 in his own family.  Neither one is ok, but I'm curious as to how he could be charged if it's the first case.

I hope they don't release the exact age of the victim so we can avoid identification like in the Duggar case (a five year old sibling),  but instead give more of a general range.

I went and looked up how TN defined 'child rape' and it says the minor has to be between the ages of 3-13 when this took place. Given the under age 22; assuming this person waited the full 18+4 rule, they were 10 at the time of the event. 

Edited September 12, 2016 by Loves2Dance

[becca3891]

On 9/10/2016 at 1:09 AM, CarolMK said:

Horrible to hear this news, but good grief, it took 12 years for this to come out? If he's guilty and been free all these years while making a boatload of money all these years, well...I just don't know what to say.

I saw a couple of episodes a year or two ago. Didn't care for the father at all, he reminded me of Joe Jackson, who also forced all of his kids into musical careers (all but one, I think). Very controlling, even if the Jackson 5 was very successful and popular for years, not to mention the success of Michael and Janet, I still believe being child performers damaged many of their kids.

There are postings from me on this forum dating back over a year saying that Toby creeped me out. Something about him bothered me beyond his obnoxious, over the top stage parenting, although I hate that too.

On 9/11/2016 at 2:02 AM, Tabbygirl521 said:

This is just hideous. I enjoyed their show but there were times when there was something that kind of gave me a bad impression of the dad. Not constantly but sometimes. I couldn't decide if his controlling demeanor was all talk , or not, since the daughters seemed free to express themselves and appeared to have some autonomy. The oldest daughter was showing some attitude toward dad at the end of the season, when he was talking about whether the family "business" could continue or not. 

Not that I want anyone to have been this creep's victim, but I really hope it was not a family member. 

I feel horrible for the family. The mom seems so nice, and the kids, too. The littlest girl is especially adorable. 

Make no mistake, the girls in particular are very much controlled in this family. They made a special point of talking about how they don't make future plans, because their future husbands will tell them what their plans are. And the mom, Brenda, said at least twice that they like teaching their kids ballroom dance because it is a good analogy for life -- the man leads and the woman follows. It's just Duggar patriarchy that looks a bit less odd to outsiders because they dance and wear pants. But it's there, all right. I hope more information about this case is released soon because the suspense is killing me.

[hwarner]

I was looking through the Willis Family Facebook page last night and noticed that their oldest daughter, Jessica Willis, has not been performing with the band or shown traveling with the family. Does anyone know if she resigned from the band? Moved away from the family? Got married?

[b2H]

This is what I found:

http://willisclanfans.com/where-is-jessica-willis/

focusing on song-writing.....

[slasherboy]

I live in Nashville and on our evening news they said the TBI (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) is asking that anyone who gave Toby Willis a ride on September 5th or 6th, please contact them as they want to question them. 

Seems the rapist (er, alleged rapist) (yeah, right) hitch hiked from Shepherdsville, Kentucky (not far from Louisville) to Greenville, Kentucky which is 115 miles, and that is where he was picked up.

[CarolMK]

Does anyone know if the family will go on performing or is this all completely on hold now? He's being held without bail. Trial could take quite awhile. Toby Willis could end up in prison for a number of years if the charges are true. Will the family be able to function without him? I've always wondered what would happen in families that are run on patriarchy, if something happened to the father, how would the rest of them survive.

[ChiCricket]

WTH is WRONG with some "religious" guys?! (And yes,I know there are plenty of pedophiles who probably aren't religious) But here's another one!  

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/09/ohio-ex-mayor-who-dedicated-life-to-christ-admits-to-raping-4-year-old-and-blames-her-as-willing/

All sick bastards :(  Makes you wonder if they become super religious to try and control their creepy urges?! But then why do some like the Willises have a zillion kids?

IS it because they can't control themselves, so  then you super control your children, trying to not let them turn out like you?

Sick, sick, sick! >:-{

Edited September 14, 2016 by ChiCricket

[hwarner]

19 hours ago, b2H said:

This is what I found:

http://willisclanfans.com/where-is-jessica-willis/

focusing on song-writing.....

Thank you for finding this!

[Whyyouneedaname]

I too found him way too controlling but the time he MADE Jasmine sing and she was terrified yet he made her do it anyway, totally saw him in a different light but never saw this coming. She stood there and cried on stage, I know you have to be pushed out of your comfort zone but do that without cameras and all of tv watching.

[NextIteration]

5 hours ago, Whyyouneedaname said:

I know you have to be pushed out of your comfort zone

This isn't true at all.  Natural performers don't need to be prodded, sometimes they even need to be held back if where they are going could cause harm (if they think something is going to go much better that an objective person can tell it will not).

Edited September 13, 2016 by NextIteration

[merriebreeze]

Is his daughter the (alleged) victim?

[Loves2Dance]

44 minutes ago, merriebreeze said:

Is his daughter the (alleged) victim?

We have no reason to believe, at this point, that the victim was any of his daughters or a family member. That may change with time, but at this point, there isn't enough information to speculate on who the victim could be. 

 

To squash any rumors that the victim may be Jessica; she is 24, which would make her 2 years too old to be covered by the statue of limitation. All of the other children were on the road/doing gigs as this was going down so it would be safest to assume it wasn't any of them.