Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events

[dargosmydaddy]

9 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

There was a pic from Jed's wedding where Smuggar was more in the middle of the shot. We made fun of his sneakers. Most of the siblings were in this particular picture but not all. We also speculated that Lauren might be pregnant. 

We snarked on Josh's sneakers in the Justin pics, though maybe he was wearing them at Jed's, too. And in the Jedding group photo, Josh isn't front and center, he's on the end, holding Maryella. Hopefully that makes him easy to edit out. I would imagine the newest sisters-in-law are reeling from this latest development...

[ginger90]

[IndianPaintbrush]

Wow, leave it to Jessa to lay down the LAW. She sounds livid.

[Oldernowiser]

That’s Jessa, right?

So…the distancing begins? “Their family”? Pretty sure he’s one of your brothers, Jess. 

 

[Ohiopirate02]

5 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

Their family?? Why not just say Anna and her kids.  This reads like Jessa is blaming Anna for Josh's actions.   

[lascuba]

3 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

That’s Jessa, right?

So…the distancing begins? “Their family”? Pretty sure he’s one of your brothers, Jess. 

 

Marriage and nuclear family is #1 for them, so I think she means Anna and the kids. Using "their" instead of "his" is weird--I guess she meant Josh and Anna's kids specifically?

You can take the girl out of the SOTDRT...

[Minivanessa]

41 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Their family?? Why not just say Anna and her kids.  This reads like Jessa is blaming Anna for Josh's actions.   

That kind of blaming would be in line with the Gothard/ATI/IBLP doctrines that Jessa was taught by her parents. Someone around here (sorry, I forgot who) posted a link to this Facebook page of a young woman raised in that cult.

The page presents eye-opening information about those doctrines: https://www.facebook.com/ThrivingForwardBlog. I should probably warn readers that they may be upset/infuriated/disgusted by what they learn there. 

ETA: I think credit should go to @Tabbygirl521 for the link to this Facebook page and the information it provides.

Edited May 1, 2021 by Jeeves
Good grammar; it's a goal.

[mythoughtis]

8 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

That’s Jessa, right?

So…the distancing begins? “Their family”? Pretty sure he’s one of your brothers, Jess. 

 

It’s entirely possible that Ben wrote it for her.  

[WinnieWinkle]

5 hours ago, Showthyme said:

These women are foolish to have so many children without having an education or skill set to support them should something happen

The family I know that delved deep into fundiedom was one where they had 4 children in 6 years and homeschooled so even if the mother had wanted a job she wasn't going to be getting it.  The father had a low level factory job and they were all barely getting by yet still tithed 10% of their income.  It was only when they finally made a break from their fundie church that they were able to look back and see that they had condemned themselves to a life lived almost at a poverty level. 

In their case they were young enough, educated enough and had family support behind them to make a clean break and start fresh.  I just don't see that happening with Anna Duggar or most of the others for that matter.  The life they are leading is all most of them have ever known.

Edited May 1, 2021 by WinnieWinkle

[3girlsforus]

24 minutes ago, lascuba said:

When David asked Pa Keller for Priscilla's hand, Keller told him that he had to promise that he'd let Pris control his internet activity.

I think the Keller parents are even more checked out than the Duggars, which probably explains why they're kids are split between having completely left fundamentalism or being batshit fundie.

And this is why it's easy to say Anna should have dumped his ass a while ago but the reality is that it isn't that easy. JB/Josh controls their money. For her to leave with her kids she would need at least initial financial support. I don't think she'd get it from her parents.  I know her brother offered but lots of 'hey come live with me' type offers just aren't feasible in real life. Unless her parents are currently at her doorstep working with her on how to file for divorce, custody, and a financial settlement - then they are part of the problem and dooming their daughter to life begging JB for money and waiting for Josh to get out of jail. I suspect whatever assets Josh and Anna have are controlled by JB and she would have to take him to court to get control of them. I don't see her having the strength to do that without a lot of outside support. 

[doodlebug]

13 hours ago, Zella said:

Yeah I am not a fan of Jim Bob and Michelle at all, and I think they have handled all of the multiple sex scandals in their family horribly and that they fucked up their kids immeasurably, but I am also inclined to think that Josh would have ended up facing the same charges even if he had been raised in a different environment. 

 

I generally agree with this.  However, while there is a low rate of 'cure' for pedophilia; by far the greatest success occurs when the perpetrator is identified and given intensive therapy as soon as it is discovered; certainly before adulthood.  Josh's best chance to get his criminal urges under control and perhaps be able to restrain himself from harming other children was the first time he was caught.  Instead, JB and M waited for almost 2 years and until at least 5 children, 4 of them their daughters, were harmed before doing anything substantive to help Josh.  I also feel that sending him off to remodel kitchens was not the right choice; but, at least they finally got him out of the house and away from his sisters for a bit.  Now, I don't think what they did helped in the long run, he still would've gotten messed up in watching children be abused anyway; but maybe some of his sisters could've been left alone.  And, once again, that first chance was the best chance to help him.  I agree that he is unlikely to get a lot of benefit from therapy now, at least in terms of preventing future abusive behavior.

Had Michelle and JB, who claim that Josh actually came to them and told them what he'd done, that the girls didn't know; sought out actual expert advice in dealing with troubled children, at the very least, they could have very likely prevented the molestations of some of the other young girls including a 5 year old.  If they're telling the truth and Josh came to them of his own accord (a big 'IF'), then he perhaps also realized the wrongness of his actions and wanted help in stopping and his parents didn't do a thing to help their very messed up kid.

Edited May 1, 2021 by doodlebug

[lascuba]

5 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

And this is why it's easy to say Anna should have dumped his ass a while ago but the reality is that it isn't that easy. JB/Josh controls their money. For her to leave with her kids she would need at least initial financial support. I don't think she'd get it from her parents.  I know her brother offered but lots of 'hey come live with me' type offers just aren't feasible in real life. Unless her parents are currently at her doorstep working with her on how to file for divorce, custody, and a financial settlement - then they are part of the problem and dooming their daughter to life begging JB for money and waiting for Josh to get out of jail. I suspect whatever assets Josh and Anna have are controlled by JB and she would have to take him to court to get control of them. I don't see her having the strength to do that without a lot of outside support. 

This is all true, but I just don't think that Anna has ever had any desire to leave Josh, so the money situation is moot point for her specifically.

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, thehorseofpower said:

As far as cutting Josh out of their lives - all this family does is breed. And breed some more. There are young children everywhere, all the time, at every family home. How do you keep Josh in the family circle and also keep him away from all those kids? If it were me, while I might still love him if he was my child, I would absolutely cut him out of the family life. Protecting the children from someone who has proven over and over that he cannot be trusted should ALWAYS come first.

Well, JB and M, at least, are clearly among those ATI/IBLP people who've continued to worship at the throne of Bill Gothard and his insane beliefs for years and years after person after person has come forward to describe abusive crap he's done, including to numerous young girls (repeatedly choosing the most vulnerable among the available targets as in this group, too...) 

And old Bill isn't their beloved sonny boy or even their crazy old grumpy uncle.

All he is is a pseudo-intellectual grifter who made up a bunch of nutso tales and rules and systems that got them and bunch of other suckers to keep giving him money for years and years .... (Although, to be fair, Bill also succeeded in encouraging and grooming the Duggars in a direction that's brought them years and years worth of paychecks and the satisfaction of feeling powerful and important for being international Christian role models on the TeeVee.) 

BG proved over and over again that he couldn't be trusted, but they've gone on spouting his bullshit and almost certainly revering him in secret for years and years  (even though the remaining Gothardites officially ejected him from their group -- in spirit, the group is still very much his when you look at the stuff they say and the attitude of the remainers toward people who've left or who, dog forbid, have actually called BG out on his evil deeds and shortcomings) .     

And with Gothard they don't just go on liking him, they go on loudly preaching to others the necessity of basing your life on his scads of disgusting "teaching" and "advice," and "wisdom," including the large amounts of his "wisdom" that deal with the exact areas in which BG is himself a multiple, egregious offender. (They don't even bother with forgiving him, of course. They simply deny that his many many credible accusers have ever described anything that calls for forgiveness.)

So....I'd say that mindset raises a lot of questions about what they'll do in the current situation. It will by no means be easy for them to do anything that veers toward ethical or sensible behavior.  

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Churchhoney

[PrincessPurrsALot]

11 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Jill WAS the one who infamously said in the Megyn Kelly interview that "statistics showed" that 2/3 of families suffered that kind of abuse. That number came from Gothard, of course. 

It illustrates the poison Boobchelle were feeding their children to justify the actions of one.

My niece was raised by religious extremists.  She has broken away and is not raising her children that way.  In her group they were often lectured about child sexual abuse, incest and bestiality, as if non-religious folks were engaging in these horrific behaviors at all times and only true faith in god could protect you.  Whenever someone "slipped" it was the devil and they needed to re-commit themselves to the godly path.  Much like the Duggars' cult, the girls were blamed.  

A few years back I was travelling.  The only radio station I could get was a evangelical Christian one.  The preacher was talking about coveting which seemed like a reasonable topic to listen to.  Next thing I know he was discussing incest and bestiality.  Seriously.  As if that is the most common thing people covet.  Not a better home, better job, various things.  These folks come from such a twisted mindset. My heathen self has never desired sex with an animal or anyone to whom I am related.  Never. And yet these folks are told this is happening all the time. 

8 hours ago, coconspirator said:

The  majority of kids who sexually offend respond well to a good treatment program. The recidivism rate for treated  juvenile sexual offenders is very low. The vast majority are not pedophiles by the true definition. The word gets tossed around when it doesn’t apply. You are correct that the small percentage who meet the definition of a pedophile are difficult to change with traditional methods  but even those folks can, when motivated not to harm others, follow a safety plan or other risk mitigation methods. The issue with Josh is we have no idea if he could have been helped because nobody tried.

A good friend was a psychologist working with youth sexual offenders.  She eventually quit because the impact to her was too great.  Her sense was if you can work with them before they are 14-15, you have a good chance of turning them around.  This included all types of sexual offenders.  Once they passed that age, she felt it become almost hopeless.  As you said, after that it is based on harm reduction and safety plans.  

I don't see Josh's smirk in his smugshot as meaningful.  He looks drunk.  Just a sweaty, drunk asshole without a clue what a world of shit he's in.   

[Zella]

I'd be more likely to think Anna wanted to leave but was only prevented from doing so if she had maintained radio silence for these years. 

She seems to have chosen to actively depict their family as wonderful and to defend Josh. I don't think she was being forced to do that. If anything Josh looked more under duress and there against his will than she ever did.

I do think she is very brainwashed by their cult and she is probably in deep denial, but I don't think the only thing keeping her there is lack of money. 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Zella

[satrunrose]

2 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

And this is why it's easy to say Anna should have dumped his ass a while ago but the reality is that it isn't that easy. JB/Josh controls their money. For her to leave with her kids she would need at least initial financial support. I don't think she'd get it from her parents.  I know her brother offered but lots of 'hey come live with me' type offers just aren't feasible in real life. 

Exactly, and I didn't judge Anna when she stayed after Ashley Madison. She had four kids, no work experience and her post-secondary training qualified her to be a Sunday School teacher or teach in a christian pre-school. Neither of those jobs pays enough to feed, house and clothe a family of five. While I appreciated her brother's offer, this was not a six months until you get back on your feet situation. Anna and the four little ms were going to need heavy and long term financial and emotional support plus the willingness to do it all in the public eye. 

 I do, however, judge Anna HARD for the choices she has made since. Getting pregnant three more times married to a man living on the good will of his crappy parents? Bringing Cousin Emily in to "mentor" in a house with a known pervert? Not okay Anna. But most of all I judge the heck out of her for being all over social media trying to make her "diligent" perv of a husband beloved again. 

[BitterApple]

Kind of a wishy-washy statement if you ask me. Notice Jessa lumped in pornography with child sexual abuse, which confirms my earlier comment that the Duggars view it all as one and the same. She also uses the Christian qualifier and "thoughts and prayers" platitude. Jinger's response was much better.

[Ohiopirate02]

21 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

That kind of blaming would be in line with the Gothard/ATI/IBLP doctrines that Jessa was taught by her parents. Someone around here (sorry, I forgot who) posted a link to this Facebook page of a young woman raised in that cult. The page presents eye-opening information about those doctrines are there: https://www.facebook.com/ThrivingForwardBlog. I should probably warn readers that they may be upset/infuriated/disgusted by what they learn there. 

Oh, I know.  I didn't expect Jessa to be so blatant about it

[Tabbygirl521]

I don’t think we can overstate how thoroughly indoctrinated Gothardites are. Many religions instill lifelong thought patterns that are difficult to overcome (for example, Catholics will sometimes reference Catholic guilt) and that’s just everyday basic mainstream religion. ATI and other such cults are WAY into mind and behavior control through instilling fear and guilt. It’s completely abhorrent how their women are taught they are responsible for everything that goes bad - and it’s guaranteed they will be present for the ongoing mental ass-whipping because they are denied any tools and resources to leave the cult. They are trapped. It takes a hell of a lot to break from any system that ever played a role of importance in one’s life, never mind the added complication here of thinking you’ll  be condemned to Hell if you go.

Anna will have to overcome unimaginable programming and manipulation if she’s ever to free herself. And I think it’s very likely she was caught completely off guard by Josh’s arrest. I’m sure she believed her programming, that Josh and his family prayed away the prior sins and everything has been A-OK since. Now she must overcome the denial that anyone might be dealing with in this situation, and overcoming the idea that enough prayer fixes everything (while also feeling guilty that she didn’t pray hard enough to save Josh from himself). It’s a kind of Hell, and not everyone is strong or brave enough to do the work to escape. I hope (assuming he’s guilty, of course) that her love for her children will give her the strength to withstand the pressure that is sure to come her way from many of those around her.

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Tabbygirl521

[Slakkie]

4 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Kind of a wishy-washy statement if you ask me. Notice Jessa lumped in pornography with child sexual abuse, which confirms my earlier comment that the Duggars view it all as one and the same. She also uses the Christian qualifier and "thoughts and prayers" platitude. Jinger's response was much better.

Jinger is a bit more savvy and worldly (not a stretch) but also Jessa has been the petted daughter so ANY statement is a big deal.  I bet she is reliving the abuse and realizing it WAS a big deal and her parents are as evil as her brother.  

[BigBingerBro]

This is an interesting read:

I grew up with Josh Duggar, the reality star who was arrested today

[Churchhoney]

42 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

That’s Jessa, right?

So…the distancing begins? “Their family”? Pretty sure he’s one of your brothers, Jess. 

 

And, once again, the implication that ALL "pornography" is equal. The lines are always the same. And the oversimplifying the issue and throwing blame in other directions are as per usual. 

[BigBingerBro]

Like I've commented before, I really doubt that most of them truly know what child pornography is.  To them it's all lumped into one big sin.

[Oldernowiser]

My mother was a prosecuting attorney for a county in Michigan and she had some stories. My concern is that Josh is going to plea out to a much lesser charge (especially since officially this is a first offense) and some uber-Christian judge is going to decide that since Anna has six kids and a seventh on the way, the husband/father needs to be dealt with lightly because he’s needed to support the family (ha). So they’ll slap his wrist, tell him to pray more, and dole out some bullshit community service sentence that JB will magically figure out a way for Josh to serve while working for him. Then Josh’s official address will be some house JB owns but he’ll be back home with Anna on day two. The Good Old Boys’ network will come through again, just like the last time.

I would be shocked if Josh serves time for this. My sad guess is his life will resume as normal in, oh, four or five months, if it takes that long.

[Chai]

34 minutes ago, WinnieWinkle said:

The family I know that delved deeped into fundiedom was one where they had 4 children in 6 years and homeschooled so even even if the mother had wanted a job she wasn't going to be getting it.  The father had a low level factory job and they were all barely getting by yet still tithed 10% of their income.  It was only when they finally made a break from their fundie church that they were able to look back and see that they had condemned themselves to a life lived almost at a poverty level. 

In their case they were young enough, educated enough and had family support behind them to make a clean break and start fresh.  I just don't see that happening with Anna Duggar or most of the others for that matter.  The life they are leading is all most of them have ever known.

Before TLC came into their lives they truly were suffering. . One thing that always stuck with me was Jill saying there was never enough food. She used to grab something off the table and run away and eat it in a closet so no one could take it away from her.

[EtheltoTillie]

20 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

I was one of the people who thought his warped upbringing was part of the problem, and wasn’t ready to label him a pedophile but rather an opportunist. I was wrong. 

I had a former legal assistant who was raised in an extreme fundy environment. He had moved on from it but was arrested and convicted for taking upskirt photos. 

[iwantcookies]

5 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

My mother was a prosecuting attorney for a county in Michigan and she had some stories. My concern is that Josh is going to plea out to a much lesser charge (especially since officially this is a first offense) and some uber-Christian judge is going to decide that since Anna has six kids and a seventh on the way, the husband/father needs to be dealt with lightly because he’s needed to support the family (ha). So they’ll slap his wrist, tell him to pray more, and dole out some bullshit community service sentence that JB will magically figure out a way for Josh to serve while working for him. Then Josh’s official address will be some house JB owns but he’ll be back home with Anna on day two. The Good Old Boys’ network will come through again, just like the last time.

I would be shocked if Josh serves time for this. My sad guess is his life will resume as normal in, oh, four or five months, if it takes that long.

I agree. I have a feeling Josh will be home before M7 is potty trained. 

[Nysha]

12 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

12 hours ago, Zella said:

Yeah I am not a fan of Jim Bob and Michelle at all, and I think they have handled all of the multiple sex scandals in their family horribly and that they fucked up their kids immeasurably, but I am also inclined to think that Josh would have ended up facing the same charges even if he had been raised in a different environment. 

 

Different parents would have made different choices for their troubled teen. The choices that Boobchelle made were a compilation of what NOT to do. 

While JB & Michelle definitely & purposely did everything wrong when Josh was caught molesting his sisters, I think Zella's right. A relative in my family found out his teen son was molesting his sisters & called the police. Son ended up spending 2 years confined to a treatment facility for youth sex offenders and another year in a therapeutic foster home. He was never allowed back to the family home and couldn't have any contact with his minor siblings. He was fine until he was 21, when his youthful offense was wiped off his record. But when his sisters became adults he started messaging them on SM which led to visits where he tried to convince them that they were willing partners as children and wanted to continue where he left off. They broke off contact, but he's still around. 

[Fosca]

1 hour ago, quarks said:

 

They might also be hoping that eventually pictures of cute little babies and toddlers can help restore at least some goodwill. It worked before. 

 

This might have worked before, but I don't know if it will in the future; Josh is now permanently labelled as someone who downloaded and possessed pictures of children under 12 being sexually abused, and I think that may enter the minds of many/most people when they see pictures of baby/toddler Duggars.  

[Oldernowiser]

1 minute ago, Fosca said:

This might have worked before, but I don't know if it will in the future; Josh is now permanently labelled as someone who downloaded and possessed pictures of children under 12 being sexually abused, and I think that may enter the minds of many/most people when they see pictures of baby/toddler Duggars.  

It’s ironic that the Duggar brand is likely to suffer more damage than Josh will.

[Lady Whistleup]

I dont blame Jessa for her rather cold statement. It's on brand but let's face it, it probably is her way of coping too.

[Ohiopirate02]

18 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

My mother was a prosecuting attorney for a county in Michigan and she had some stories. My concern is that Josh is going to plea out to a much lesser charge (especially since officially this is a first offense) and some uber-Christian judge is going to decide that since Anna has six kids and a seventh on the way, the husband/father needs to be dealt with lightly because he’s needed to support the family (ha). So they’ll slap his wrist, tell him to pray more, and dole out some bullshit community service sentence that JB will magically figure out a way for Josh to serve while working for him. Then Josh’s official address will be some house JB owns but he’ll be back home with Anna on day two. The Good Old Boys’ network will come through again, just like the last time.

I would be shocked if Josh serves time for this. My sad guess is his life will resume as normal in, oh, four or five months, if it takes that long.

These are federal charges not state.  There is less room for a sympathetic judge to go lightly on Josh.  He could also face state charges for his actions which could lengthen his prison stay.

[coconspirator]

4 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The parents JB & M released one of those, 'we'll wait and see what happens, and isn't this unfortunate' statements.     Two of the sisters said the usual non-statements.    I suspect if he gets 20 years in federal prison, that the Duggars will ship Anna and her kids off to her family to support, unless they whine until her family shells out to support the kids.    I bet that if Josh gets 100 years, that Anna will still be sitting and waiting for him.   

I'm betting that one reason the first cases were hushed up is that the victims were blamed too.    I bet the pressure on victims to keep quiet was intense.    I'm sure this case will be blamed on everyone but the person who downloaded the CP.    I'm hoping he gets 20 years or more. 

The problem with being charged with anything as a juvenile is that the record is sealed.    Unless they're charged as an adult, their name isn't given out, and their record is not given out by the courts.    There is no way to know about the real recidivism rate of juveniles.   Many get records expunged (I know of one case that was expunged when person was convicted of two murders while they were under 18.  )

 

Actually in many states, if not most, the term “sealed record” isn’t entirely accurate. The military can access juvenile records of recruits. So can police training programs or government entities like the FBI during a background employment check. In many cases the now adult would still be asked specifically if they were adjudicated for a crime as a teenager. 
 

And the majority of states will put juveniles on the sex offender registry. If someone is adjudicated as a juvenile for a sex crime in a state where they would not have to register (Alaska, for example does not require juvenile SO’s to register unless they were charged as an adult) and they move to Ohio (as an example) they have to report to the local authorities upon arrival and register as an S.O. For a designated time period (5 or 10 years) regardless of their age at the time of the felony offense, and regardless of whether they completed a treatment program.
 

There’s a misconception that juveniles who commit sex crimes don’t really suffer any consequences, and while it’s true that people can slip through the cracks it isn’t accurate to say their charges go away and can never be used against them.

[satrunrose]

21 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

And, once again, the implication that ALL "pornography" is equal. The lines are always the same. And the oversimplifying the issue and throwing blame in other directions are as per usual. 

Another complication to this is that their attitudes towards children and childhood are a contradictory horror show. The only people in this system who are expected to be full adults (responsible, rational, able to make decisions for themselves and others ) are the patriarchs (JB, Steve Maxhell, Gil Bates) and sort of, as long as those decisions follow the patriarch's, the adult married sons. If you aren't a patriarch, or the married son of a patriarch, you are expected to live and act as a child (no decisions, no independence, no autonomy). BUT! When it comes to a. sin and b. sex, three and four year old children are expected to make informed decisions in terms of getting saved and what that means and are treated as if they can, in some horrific way, consent to sex. It's horrific.

[GreyBunny]

4 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

These are federal charges not state.  There is less room for a sympathetic judge to go lightly on Josh.  He could also face state charges for his actions which could lengthen his prison stay.

Josh is looking at five years in federal prison, minimum. The feds don’t play games, they wouldn’t have arrested him unless the investigation was thoroughly done and they’re virtually certain they can win in court. Pervo the Clown better get used to wearing an orange jumpsuit.

[Zella]

And Josh never had sealed records, anyway, since the molestations investigation never reached court and were reported past the statue of limitations. 

[Gigi43]

4 hours ago, Slakkie said:

Austin is a good ole boy and let me tell you Jesus be damned when it comes to kids and a good ole Southern Boy.  There is no way he will allow that vile pig near his children.  He probably will not ever have to worry because Josh best keep away from Austin because he already had to eat one shit sandwich from the "kids will be kids" that happened.  

 

 

This take about a good ole boy reminded me of that movie Bastard Out of Carolina and that very satisfying moment when they aunt finally noticed Bone (Jenna Malones character) was being abused by her step father and she gave the order to the uncles to go beat his ass, and they did. Here's hoping Austin is one of those Good Ole Boys. Unfortunately, the mother still went back to him, but the aunts and uncles were there for Bone.  Unfortunately, I see Anna playing the roll of Bones mom, still going back (granted Josh hasn't been accused of abusing their kids but how do you stay with someone who repeatedly is interested in them?!)  That's a hard movie to watch and I was shocked they put JM so young in some of those abuse scenes but the portrayal of how family abuse goes down stayed with me. 

 

10 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Here's that drawing that was mentioned earlier.

 

 

The sketch looks more like Alex Jones than Josh, imo.

 

Even though Josh was never charged with anything with what he did to his sisters, it was admitted very publicly, will the prosecution be able to present it as evidence of past behavior towards underage kids? If his defense will be -hypothetically- it wasn't him who had the porn on the computer, surely bringing up that he has a history of younger children would shoot that down a lot. Will him being a minor at the time make that harder to bring  up or is it because he wasn't charge it'll be off limits?

Edited May 1, 2021 by Gigi43

[Zella]

Just now, Gigi43 said:

The sketch looks more like Alex Jones than Josh, imo.

My first thought was the Potato Jesus painter had switched careers and was now doing court sketches. 

[debbie311]

I expect what will happen is the criminal attorney who said they are going to "aggressively" fight this will get him off. I would be surprised if he gets any jail time at all, maybe some probation and counseling, blah, blah, blah.  Eventually he will be back with Anna.  She has no resources or safety net, from what I gather.  She's completely dependent, as are her seven children.

I hope I'm wrong. Whatever happens, TLC needs to cut the ties to the family, rid themselves of the stench. And his siblings need to cut their ties too.  I don't care if he is their brother. He's got a problem and will probably continue to act out.

You know, if this had happened to one of the other boys, I might give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't download the porn on purpose, they really didn't do it, etc.  But with Josh, this is his third strike.  That we know of.  Who knows what else?  What a mess.

[Zella]

Just now, debbie311 said:

I expect what will happen is the criminal attorney who said they are going to "aggressively" fight this will get him off.

The feds basically have a 96% conviction rate. I don't think the fancy lawyer is going to do him all that much good. 

[Lisa418722]

I don't see Anna ever divorcing Josh because she doesn't believe it is allowed because of Gothard/JB/Michelle.  What I think will happen, Anna and the 7 M's will move into the TTH and occasionally Josh will come over to visit.  Even if his brothers and sisters are there with their kids, everyone will keep quiet because they will probably think, "Josh was just looking at pictures,  he didn't touch kids" (forgetting that he touched 4 of his sisters and another young girl).  The girls were forced to forgive Josh and act like it was no big deal. Josh has a serious mental illness (not snarking) but the fact JB & Michelle never made him face up to it has made it all the worse.  I do hope Josh faces some prison time, that is the only way he will get away from all the kids in that family.

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Lisa418722

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I dont blame Jessa for her rather cold statement. It's on brand but let's face it, it probably is her way of coping too.

It’s also not fair to judge a victim for her statement about her abuser, IMO. This could be bringing up a lot of repressed feelings.

[Madtown]

I just have this thought that Anna and the kids are at the TTH and Jimbo and MEchelle telling her it's all going to be ok. Telling her Josh isn't guilty and he was tricked and that he'll be home soon. Makes me sick to think that, but it is the Duggar's.

I also keep thinking that if the kids didn't see Josh get arrested(I sure hope they didn't), that Anna could've easily told them that he had to go away for a month for a job and didn't have time to say good-bye, but would be back. It just makes me so mad that she kept having kids with this piece of shit and is pregnant again.

I'm with those that say Anna will never divorce him. Which is why I keep having the thought above of her at the TTH. I also don't think he'll ever not be with her again. Even if he gets a long sentence, the second he gets out, they'll be back together and she'll still think he didn't do anything wrong and/or it was her fault. 

I wouldn't doubt that she is probably more upset that #7 could be her last.

[Oldernowiser]

5 minutes ago, Madtown said:

I just have this thought that Anna and the kids are at the TTH and Jimbo and MEchelle telling her it's all going to be ok. Telling her Josh isn't guilty and he was tricked and that he'll be home soon. Makes me sick to think that, but it is the Duggar's.

You’re much kinder than I am. I’m more inclined to believe that Anna’s at the TTH, yes, but she’s in the middle of a screaming match between JB and Michelle about how this could ruin everything and how it just might be Anna’s fault for not monitoring Josh more closely and not being joyfully available enough. 

J’chelle don’t really give much of a damn for anyone or anything other than themselves and their money and status in the Fundie community. This has threatened both, so it’s hard for me to picture them comforting Anna unless it’s a tactic to get her to cooperate with whatever damage control they can come up with.

[galaxygirl76]

I would love to know wht the Kellers are thinking right now, the religious ones like mom and dad because I'm sure that the siblings that got out are having the same feelings about this(or probably worse) as they did last time when they tried to get Anna out of there. 

[Lady Whistleup]

1 minute ago, galaxygirl76 said:

I would love to know wht the Kellers are thinking right now, the religious ones like mom and dad because I'm sure that the siblings that got out are having the same feelings about this(or probably worse) as they did last time when they tried to get Anna out of there. 

Anna's two non-fundie sisters appear to be made of a very strong constitution. I hope they are in contact with Anna right now. At the very least they can be examples about how the world doesn't end when you leave the fundie life.

[Tabbygirl521]

50 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I dont blame Jessa for her rather cold statement. It's on brand but let's face it, it probably is her way of coping too.

I feel so sorry for her and her sisters, being expected to comment at all. Why the hell should they keep being dragged back into the public eye because of Josh and his horrible deeds. I also hated it when their parents forced them to express forgiveness on that Megyn Kelly show in 2015. Let them go about their lives without any public reference to their abuser. 

Edited May 1, 2021 by Tabbygirl521

[Gigi43]

I can see Anna, JB, Michelle and probably even Josh himself blaming the internet. Damn heathen technology allowed him to access CP. If Josh received it from a specific person (we don't know how he came to obtain it) that person will be more to blame than Josh. Perhaps someone was looking to set up this good Christian. Or the person who made the CP wouldn't have done it if they were Godly and it was a Satan test looking to test Josh's faith and he failed the test but it'll make him stronger to resist the next one. These are people who didn't let their kids watch TV (so they claimed) but had a TV show. I can see them blaming the internet even though the family has a blog and so many of the kids have IGs. 

 

But I also see JB and M wanting to keep Anna close, even if it means supporting her, to control her and make sure she doesn't end up doing a tell-all. If Anna goes to Florida they may send her support if they can as hush money, though I do see her standing by Josh.

 

[Zella]

1 minute ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

I feel so sorry for her and her sisters, being expected to comment at all.

For this reason, I wouldn't read too much into if some of the siblings never release statements. I don't think that automatically means they have any solidarity with Josh. 

[Tabbygirl521]

1 hour ago, lascuba said:

This is all true, but I just don't think that Anna has ever had any desire to leave Josh, so the money situation is moot point for her specifically.

She has been brainwashed not to think that leaving is even an option. Just keep praying and everything will be perfect!