Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events

[hathorlive]

1 minute ago, 3girlsforus said:

I'm always surprised how often some people are called. I've only been called once and I had to decline. I had a 4 week old nursing baby at home which was an exemption listed on the sheet. But since my youngest is now 18 that tells you how long it's been.  But then hear people talking about how they've been called yet again (and are trying to get out of it).  I certainly would go if called again. To be honest I would probably whine about it a little just because I don't like my routine disrupted. I'm a little set in my ways LOL. But I do believe it's really a critical function so I'd do it.           

I literally get called every 4 months.  Sometimes the date comes and goes, with no jury being called to the court house.  Other times I get there and they ask for a bench trial.  And sometimes, they hear what I do for a living and bounce me.   I can count on going to the court house at least twice a year.  And I live in a huge city.

Josh will have a hard time finding a sympathetic jury.  He has been too prominent for his skeevy ways.

[Tikichick]

13 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

I'm always surprised how often some people are called. I've only been called once and I had to decline. I had a 4 week old nursing baby at home which was an exemption listed on the sheet. But since my youngest is now 18 that tells you how long it's been.  But then hear people talking about how they've been called yet again (and are trying to get out of it).  I certainly would go if called again. To be honest I would probably whine about it a little just because I don't like my routine disrupted. I'm a little set in my ways LOL. But I do believe it's really a critical function so I'd do it.           

I have a feeling everybody is about to be talking a lot about receiving a jury summons as courts reopen and attempt to begin holding jury trials again.  The backlog is unbelievable. 

[Kat20]

It's probably going to be a challenge to find a sympathetic jury for Josh. I'm not sure if this is a problem everywhere, but several years ago in Georgia, they had a huge problem with less 50% of the people showing up for jury duty. The newspaper did multiple articles on it, and it came out that many notices were sent to people who had moved or had died. Of course, many said they never got the notice. Judges starting making an effort to settle the cases. It might be worse now after covid.

[madpsych78]

I found that video of the Duggar sister eating the banana on FB. It's not inherently "wrong" in and of itself, but it is creepy in light of who made the video. If it had been anyone else who posted it, it would have not been a big deal. But Josh knows way more about the world and the flesh than most fundies and I wouldn't be surprised if he was aware of the double entendre. 

Honestly, the Ashley Madison scandal is the tamest part of all of Josh's shenagians. Yes, he lied and cheated on Anna, but it was also still legal - with consenting adults who were on the site. Part of me wonders if he was trying to address his addiction to CSAI by channeling it towards adults?

 

 

[libgirl2]

56 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

I'm always surprised how often some people are called. I've only been called once and I had to decline. I had a 4 week old nursing baby at home which was an exemption listed on the sheet. But since my youngest is now 18 that tells you how long it's been.  But then hear people talking about how they've been called yet again (and are trying to get out of it).  I certainly would go if called again. To be honest I would probably whine about it a little just because I don't like my routine disrupted. I'm a little set in my ways LOL. But I do believe it's really a critical function so I'd do it.           

I was called up when I was not only 9 months pregnant with my son but I didn't even live in the county that called me. My son is not 27 and has jury duty next Monday. He has been called up twice! 

[JoanArc]

Just now, madpsych78 said:

Honestly, the Ashley Madison scandal is the tamest part of all of Josh's shenagians. Yes, he lied and cheated on Anna, but it was also still legal - with consenting adults who were on the site. Part of me wonders if he was trying to address his addiction to CSAI by channeling it towards adults?

 

 

 Don’t forget he basically raped a woman. I think it is more about power and control with him, but he is still a pedophile, too.

 The part of Danica Dillon’s account where his eyes went black was telling...

[libgirl2]

3 minutes ago, madpsych78 said:

 

Honestly, the Ashley Madison scandal is the tamest part of all of Josh's shenagians. Yes, he lied and cheated on Anna, but it was also still legal - with consenting adults who were on the site. Part of me wonders if he was trying to address his addiction to CSAI by channeling it towards adults?

 

 

Or he is just a perv who was hoping to enact some sick fantasies with these women? 

[3girlsforus]

55 minutes ago, hathorlive said:

I literally get called every 4 months.  Sometimes the date comes and goes, with no jury being called to the court house.  Other times I get there and they ask for a bench trial.  And sometimes, they hear what I do for a living and bounce me.   I can count on going to the court house at least twice a year.  And I live in a huge city.

Josh will have a hard time finding a sympathetic jury.  He has been too prominent for his skeevy ways.

Does a bench trial happen often? I have never thought that was a very common thing but then again I don't have any legitimate reason for that opinion.  In relation to finding a jury for Josh, would there be any plus for him to choose a bench trial? I know you said he's screwed no matter what but would a bench trial be any better for him? This is assuming he doesn't plea.

[3 is enough]

39 minutes ago, madpsych78 said:

Honestly, the Ashley Madison scandal is the tamest part of all of Josh's shenagians. Yes, he lied and cheated on Anna, but it was also still legal - with consenting adults who were on the site. Part of me wonders if he was trying to address his addiction to CSAI by channeling it towards adults?

And yet that is the thing that really bothered his parents and brothers the most.  Talk about a screwed up sense of right and wrong...  I will never understand these people.

Edited May 14, 2021 by 3 is enough

[sue450]

On 5/11/2021 at 1:57 PM, Churchhoney said:

I guess then it'll become clear to the kids raised by JB and M whether their fantastic parents actually have been the greatest kid raisers and educators ever in world history, as they claim. Or not. 

I'm sure JB has argued that plenty of other people should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. So now it'll be time for his offspring to do exactly that. I'm sure he prepared them for it perfectly, since that's what they all say. 

Show us what you got, Duggarlings. 

does anyone remember when jim bob ran for political office he said that pedophiles should get the death penalty...wonder how he feels about that now..........one other thing when the agents showed up they didn't say WHY they were there...so josh asks why are you here did someone download child porn??????  yes josh really said this to the agents 

[sue450]

On 5/11/2021 at 2:26 PM, Tuxcat said:

Do we know for sure which Duggars "worked" with Josh at his car lot? I've heard speculation but wondering if we actually know who frequented the area.

duggar family friend caleb worked with him....he got arrested for getting a girl pregnant and at the same time they were looking for calebs brother to arrest for doing "something" to some sort of abuse to children

edited to add the girl was under age and the parents filed a  restraining order against him

 

 

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by sue450
spelling and added a sentence

[sue450]

On 5/12/2021 at 4:47 PM, emmawoodhouse said:

Jill's statistic was 2/3 of families. Straight outta Gothard.

exactly this what jill said..now think about the fact that NONE of the local fundy dads would let josh  marry their daughters. duggars got anna from FLORIDA....this is the tip of the iceberg.

    does anyone remember the mini  golf episode...jim bob up against michelles back side trying to help her golf and they start dry humping in front of their kids and THEN  said as they are doing this laughing ha ha you can't do this.....

   remember they follow bill gothard..the word "abuse" does not exist  it is not a big deal in their cult...BUT if you are abused you are to thank the one who did it to you because it made you spiritually stronger

    also PTSD, stress, trauma, depression,  shyness   do not exist, if you suffer from these you are not trusting of god.

    the outside world is evil...if you are a woman and you want to get a job or go to school you will be under Satans influence something terrible will happen (you will be raped or  your child will be murdered).

    women must have sex when ever and how often the husband wants it because the men have no control over themselves....IF the man strays it is the womans  or even the female childrens fault.

    if you leave you will be shunned by family and friends

    now think about this ...Michelle had a somewhat normal; life out in the world  before she married jim bob (the super religion started a couple of years into their marriage)..she went to school was on the   gymnastics team, dated a bunch of guys, wore a bikini when she would mow the front lawn.....so when michelle speaks of how evil and bad the outside world is  it will be that much more believable to anna, and the duggars will do everything and anything to keep her from leaving the bubble

 

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by sue450
spelling and added a sentence

[IndianPaintbrush]

1 hour ago, 3girlsforus said:

Does a bench trial happen often? I have never thought that was a very common thing but then again I don't have any legitimate reason for that opinion.  In relation to finding a jury for Josh, would there be any plus for him to choose a bench trial? I know you said he's screwed no matter what but would a bench trial be any better for him? This is assuming he doesn't plea.

Bench trials can be advantageous in high-profile cases where the jury pool might be tainted or biased. Judges are usually less emotional when making decisions. But there's a trade-off: you might end up with a hardcore judge who is less sympathetic than a jury. Sometimes it's easier to plant reasonable doubt when you have 12 people as opposed to 1. It really depends on the case, the judge and the potential jury pool.

Edited May 14, 2021 by IndianPaintbrush

[Albanyguy]

16 minutes ago, IndianPaintbrush said:

Sometimes it's easier to plant reasonable doubt when you have 12 people as opposed to 1. It really depends on the case, the judge and the potential jury pool.

So far, I've heard at least a dozen people online saying "All Josh needs is one Fundie on the jury and he'll walk". And it's useless to point out how unlikely it is that such a thing will happen. People will believe what they want to believe, especially when their only knowledge of jury trials comes from soap operas and old Matlock episodes.

[Scarlett45]

Friendly reminder that the discussion of judicial process, criminal procedure & child visitation NOT related to the Duggar family is off topic and belongs in Small Talk. 
 

Further off topic posts will be removed and warnings will be issued. 

[Ohiopirate02]

32 minutes ago, Albanyguy said:

So far, I've heard at least a dozen people online saying "All Josh needs is one Fundie on the jury and he'll walk". And it's useless to point out how unlikely it is that such a thing will happen. People will believe what they want to believe, especially when their only knowledge of jury trials comes from soap operas and old Matlock episodes.

If Josh does beat the rap, it will be because of a technicality not because one juror is a fundie.  I know when I was on a jury, we took our instructions seriously.  I assume the same in Josh's case.  There is little room for emotion when you hold a person's life in your hands and are given instructions from a judge.  And I dont think I'm an anomaly in the 21st century.   The jurors will take the case seriously and decide if the prosecution met the burden of proof.

[SMama]

6 hours ago, Tikichick said:

Do you think the visits were a good thing for the kids, in their best interest?    Courts here do not think so, so that is why they bar them when the court has authority.

Obviously a parent who has complete custody and their child is not under the jurisdiction of the court in any way can choose to take their child for visits if they wish, but when the courts have power it's a no go.

I’m taking the answer to Small Talk. That is a great question.

[FizzyPuff]

On Reddit someone posted the side of Josh and Anna’s warehouse, it has at least four windows. 


 

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by FizzyPuff

[Jeeves]

Oh, and look - a nice loading dock deck with chairs to lounge on and enjoy the views. 

Although TBH if those windows are in bedrooms, it's less scary to think of the family living in that building.

[Zella]

God, even with the windows, it still kind of looks like a warehouse a serial killer keeps for "recreation." 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Zella

[xtwheeler]

4 hours ago, IndianPaintbrush said:

Bench trials can be advantageous in high-profile cases where the jury pool might be tainted or biased. Judges are usually less emotional when making decisions. But there's a trade-off: you might end up with a hardcore judge who is less sympathetic than a jury. Sometimes it's easier to plant reasonable doubt when you have 12 people as opposed to 1. It really depends on the case, the judge and the potential jury pool.

In my practice I've only conducted... I think 1 bench trial (in 24 years). Jurors are just easier to sway, and as you say, judges are less emotional. There are a few categories of cases where you're not entitled to a jury--in equitable cases (asking for the right to do something or not, like Dec relief actions). The number of jurors varies on civil cases, and jurors also don't have to reach a unanimous verdict, unlike criminal cases. 

I wish people were enthusiastic about jury duty! I would LOVE to serve, but they can't get me out of the box fast enough. I don't subscribe to the "but first, let's bounce all the lawyers" philosophy. 

If the judge determines that Smuggar can't get a fair trial, they could move it to a jurisdiction where he is less well known (they did this in the Scott Peterson case and I want to say the trial of the cops who assaulted Rodney King). It is fascinating to me that you can be a sentient human and not have formed an opinion about cases like that before being impaneled. 

Is Josh/JB a big enough deal in NWA that everybody has heard of them/can't be partial? I don't really have a sense of how well-known they are in real life, as opposed to all of us who know their intimate details! At least we know Derrick won't represent him! 

Given Josh's case is set for July, do you think he'll waive his right to a speedy trial? If he does he'll definitely get violated between now and trial! 

[Zella]

19 minutes ago, xtwheeler said:

Is Josh/JB a big enough deal in NWA that everybody has heard of them/can't be partial?

In my personal experience of living here, people usually know who the Duggars are but don't really know a lot about them or have a strong opinion on them. Your average snarker on here knows way more about the Duggars than your average Arkansan and also, in my opinion, way overestimates the family's local popularity.

Usually, when their name has come up in conversations, it's "the people with all the kids," and sometimes also "the people with all the kids whose son molested his sisters."* But the actual NWA Metro area also has a lot of people who are not local and have moved here from other areas. My guess is they would be even less likely to be aware of the Duggars.

I'm sure a jury would have to eliminate some people for knowing the Duggars, but I really don't think it's going to be impossible to seat a jury for him. The NWA Metro area has 1/2 a million people in it, and I'd venture to say most of them don't particularly know or care about the Duggars beyond "the people with all the kids."

*Every now and then, I've heard someone drop a personal anecdote of meeting them or knowing them or someone connected to them, but it's really not as common as you'd assume. 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Zella

[Nysha]

6 hours ago, madpsych78 said:

I found that video of the Duggar sister eating the banana on FB. It's not inherently "wrong" in and of itself, but it is creepy in light of who made the video. If it had been anyone else who posted it, it would have not been a big deal. But Josh knows way more about the world and the flesh than most fundies and I wouldn't be surprised if he was aware of the double entendre. 

TLC filmed a similar video of the four oldest Duggar girls eating huge dill pickles and the show's producers know damn well what that looked like.

[emmawoodhouse]

21 minutes ago, Nysha said:

TLC filmed a similar video of the four oldest Duggar girls eating huge dill pickles and the show's producers know damn well what that looked like.

Are you referring to this picture? It's not from TLC, but it was widely circulated. It came from a Journey to the Heart. 

Edited May 15, 2021 by emmawoodhouse

[Nysha]

That's the one. For some reason I thought it was a filmed piece. It's still kind of icky.

[emmawoodhouse]

Oh, I agree! They had no clue.

[iwantcookies]

At least it wasn’t a picture of them eating bananas 🤣

[CalicoKitty]

8 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I was called up when I was not only 9 months pregnant with my son but I didn't even live in the county that called me. My son is not 27 and has jury duty next Monday. He has been called up twice! 

In the county I used to live in in California, a bench warrant was issued if you didn't show up for Jury duty.  I was called for Jury Duty, and all the prospective jurors had to wait in the jury room because the Judge was using the courtroom to address all the people they had arrested for Jury Duty no-show.  You are given a chance to defer your service to a time that is better for you.  You just have to return the summons and tell them what date you want to be called.  Really no excuses for not showing up.  "I never received the summons" doesn't fly.

[graefin]

There's an interesting recap of someone's encounter with the Duggar kids a few years back here. Some tidbits: Josh was an ignorant, cocky ass, and Joseph could barely write his own name.

[MunichNark]

So, pretty much everybody has known that Josh has issues, major issues, is a creep, acts strangely around young girls. Yet they closed their eyes to it.

Great job, Meeeeechelle and Jim Blob! You must be so proud

[madpsych78]

10 hours ago, graefin said:

There's an interesting recap of someone's encounter with the Duggar kids a few years back here. Some tidbits: Josh was an ignorant, cocky ass, and Joseph could barely write his own name.

I wonder how JD got out of this?

And I wonder whose idea this was if JB (at least) was not there. All of the older girls attended, so no sister-moms at home. If it wasn't JB's idea, then it may have been Josh's.  

 

[Crochetlady]

14 hours ago, graefin said:

There's an interesting recap of someone's encounter with the Duggar kids a few years back here. Some tidbits: Josh was an ignorant, cocky ass, and Joseph could barely write his own name.

That "signature" is so sad. Poor kid probably has a learning disability which will never be diagnosed or get any help. 

Topic? I wonder if they will cop a plea deal for Josh or let it go to trial. 

[BitterApple]

27 minutes ago, Crochetlady said:

That "signature" is so sad. Poor kid probably has a learning disability which will never be diagnosed or get any help. 

Topic? I wonder if they will cop a plea deal for Josh or let it go to trial. 

It almost looks like he wrote "Josepp." That last letter doesn't look like an "H" at all. I've known some guys with atrocious handwriting, but that looked like the work of a small child just learning to write. He most definitely has an undiagnosed learning disability. Even Joy did better.

[crazy8s]

17 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

 Even Joy did better.

well she had less letters to print

[JoanArc]

24 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

It almost looks like he wrote "Josepp." That last letter doesn't look like an "H" at all. I've known some guys with atrocious handwriting, but that looked like the work of a small child just learning to write. He most definitely has an undiagnosed learning disability. Even Joy did better.

There are other pictures of his signature which is much clearer, which he wrote quickly. I think it was just a one off situation, maybe a broken pen or something.

 That’s said not disputing that he is undereducated and kept willfully dumb. 

[FizzyPuff]

19 hours ago, Nysha said:

That's the one. For some reason I thought it was a filmed piece. It's still kind of icky.

There was a filmed piece of Josh and Anna sharing a pickle I’m sure that was on 19 kids and counting. 

[emmawoodhouse]

11 minutes ago, FizzyPuff said:

There was a filmed piece of Josh and Anna sharing a pickle I’m sure that was on 19 kids and counting. 

Gross. And combined with Smuggar declaring Anna a "champion swallower" when prenatal vitamins made her gag, pretty sick of him.

[mittsigirl]

On 5/14/2021 at 9:52 AM, lilwhitelion said:

The guy who posted on Reddit that ran in the same circles as the Duggars had something interesting to say about Anna's behavior after Josh got out of Jesus jail.  He said that he was at Fort Rock Family Camp the same time that the Duggars were there, including Josh and Anna.  Josh was jovial and joking.  The guy posting said he went fishing early one morning at the pond.  Anna was there, walking around and around the pond, sobbing.  I think he said she circled the pond about fifteen times, crying the whole time.  I don't know how she can keep sweet for the sake of her children.  It must be exhausting.

Well when you remove the crazy Gothard stuff, and the rest of her in-laws and families religious teachings, examples and rules, Anna is just as human at the rest of us are. She must be very close to breaking down, and once she has that baby and her hormones are going crazy, I hope she has somebody close to her to understand how she is feeling and just be there to listen while she cries and vents and not start judging her. I really hope she does.

[JocelynCavanaugh]

15 hours ago, mittsigirl said:

Well when you remove the crazy Gothard stuff, and the rest of her in-laws and families religious teachings, examples and rules, Anna is just as human at the rest of us are. She must be very close to breaking down, and once she has that baby and her hormones are going crazy, I hope she has somebody close to her to understand how she is feeling and just be there to listen while she cries and vents and not start judging her. I really hope she does.

You’re much kinder than I am. I was done with Anna six years ago, when she stayed with a guy who publicly humiliated her even though she had viable options to get away. Now she’s had/having three more kids with him, and didn’t immediately file for divorce when he was charged with something so depraved yet not all that surprising. I don’t consider her ignorant upbringing a sufficient excuse. She can go to hell as far as I’m concerned. Sometimes people are legitimately victims and sometimes legitimate victims are also arrogant assholes who victimize their children by choosing pride over safety. [This is not meant to accuse Josh of doing anything to his kids. I mean the stuff that’s confirmed publicly.]

[lascuba]

I finally got around to listening to the podcast by the guy who grew up around the Duggars and was friends with Josh. I'm on the 3rd episode and couple of things:

1. He confirms that Josh has known for years that he could use linux to bypass filters.

2. He's been using Covenant Eyes for a very long time--Anna was pregnant with Mackynzie when the friend went to Josh for help because he'd been struggling with porn and Josh was known for having "overcome" his "addiction." So when Ashley Madison came out, the "porn addiction" excuse had been a known issue that they were already taking measures to deal with. Measures that didn't work but they apparently kept using.

[emmawoodhouse]

After hearing Justin's story, it's apparent that Smuggar has partitioned his computers for years. Easy enough not to surf porn while on the IPhone. And I think he continued to seek adult porn even while indulging in the viewing of CSA. All on the Linux side of his trusty laptop or work desktop.

[lascuba]

6 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

After hearing Justin's story, it's apparent that Smuggar has partitioned his computers for years. Easy enough not to surf porn while on the IPhone. And I think he continued to seek adult porn even while indulging in the viewing of CSA. All on the Linux side of his trusty laptop or work desktop.

I'm really curious about the porn stuff surrounding Ashley Madison. When the story broke, Josh's first statement referenced porn addiction. I had assumed that was his excuse for it all, and that's when the monitoring started. But apparently she (thought she) had always been monitoring his internet use. So, did she and everyone else believe that porn was the gateway to AM? Did she think that Covenant Eyes somehow missed something, or did she or anyone else realize Josh was using linux to bypass it? Either way, why continue using Covenant Eyes? Or is it that they knew the filter wasn't the problem because they "knew" all along that "porn addiction" was Josh's attempt to excuse himself and garner some sympathy?

None of this is to blame Anna for any of this..she's a terrible human being but she's not responsible for Josh's actions. But I do take issue with her hypocrisy and arrogance in constantly telling the world how wonderful her husband.

[emmawoodhouse]

I think that Anna was clueless regarding the Linux partitioning. She believed that Covenant Eyes was doing its job. I think she was blindsided.... again.

[Zella]

I don't think logical problem-solving is a strong skillset for any of these people.

My guess is that in their social circle, porn is the most socially acceptable thing to blame--it certainly seems like that is what people in their church believed happened instead of the actual molestations--and it's become almost an instinctive reaction with them, especially when it comes to Josh. It was porn! All porn's fault! Not Josh's fault, never.

You can even see it in Jessa's response to his arrest. I do think she was likely the only one who wrote her statement, and it was the only one that I recall that repeated the family's obvious beliefs on porn--it's all equally bad and to blame. 

In any event, they don't parse through how to avoid repeating the problem in any way that is reasonable or measured, and they also don't force Josh to be responsible for his own choices, so you get the default of them blaming porn but them also rather ineptly trying to keep him away from it. 

My guess is also that Josh probably wanted to protect some of the slyer ways he got around their methods, so the only way they found out that he was partioning the hard drive is literally because it came out in court. It wouldn't surprise me if he admitted to using other devices she didn't have access to (like a burner phone or a a work computer) to look at porn during the Ashley Madison fallout, so that way, Covenant Eyes' effectiveness was never in question. 

[ranchgirl]

There was an early episode of ___ & Counting when Josh was engaged to Anna and set out to drive from his home to Anna's home with Jana, Jill, Jessa and Jinger along, for wedding prep help.  (Those poor girls out on the road with Josh alone.)  During their travel to FL, the show shows some of the Duggar girls eating pickles in the car.  It is a different time than the picture that was shown above.  

I believe Josh and the Duggar girls stayed a week (Josh stayed in the little camper outside of Anna's parents home) and helped make the bridesmaid dresses and other stuff.  On the last evening they were there, Anna said she had wanted to take them all out to dinner but then she felt ill and so Josh and his sisters went and ate at an Italian place without her.  I've always wondered if she learned some news that day regarding Josh and just needed time to process. 

[Temperance]

On 5/14/2021 at 1:19 AM, BitterApple said:

Here's the video:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CO0WKyHF62m/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

He won me over at "Bill Gothard belongs in hell."

 

The man in this video is Jacob Wilson. He was rumored to be courting Jana a long time ago. He did social media post that some people thought was disrespectful announcing he wasn't dating Jana. It was a false rumor they were dating.

Last year he was dating Lundyn Smith, who also has a fundie background. They had a baby in December, but aren't married and may have broken up. 

He's angry young man in general. It's good he's speaking out about Josh, but isn't in good standing with many of his fellow fundies. 

[mynextmistake]

24 minutes ago, Temperance said:

The man in this video is Jacob Wilson. He was rumored to be courting Jana a long time ago. He did social media post that some people thought was disrespectful announcing he wasn't dating Jana. It was a false rumor they were dating.

Last year he was dating Lundyn Smith, who also has a fundie background. They had a baby in December, but aren't married and may have broken up. 

He's angry young man in general. It's good he's speaking out about Josh, but isn't in good standing with many of his fellow fundies. 

Lundyn? Eek. I don’t know which explanation is more horrifying — that her parents chose that creative spelling or that they thought that was actually how “London” is spelled. 
 

[lascuba]

7 hours ago, Zella said:

I don't think logical problem-solving is a strong skillset for any of these people.

My guess is that in their social circle, porn is the most socially acceptable thing to blame--it certainly seems like that is what people in their church believed happened instead of the actual molestations--and it's become almost an instinctive reaction with them, especially when it comes to Josh. It was porn! All porn's fault! Not Josh's fault, never.

You can even see it in Jessa's response to his arrest. I do think she was likely the only one who wrote her statement, and it was the only one that I recall that repeated the family's obvious beliefs on porn--it's all equally bad and to blame. 

In any event, they don't parse through how to avoid repeating the problem in any way that is reasonable or measured, and they also don't force Josh to be responsible for his own choices, so you get the default of them blaming porn but them also rather ineptly trying to keep him away from it. 

My guess is also that Josh probably wanted to protect some of the slyer ways he got around their methods, so the only way they found out that he was partioning the hard drive is literally because it came out in court. It wouldn't surprise me if he admitted to using other devices she didn't have access to (like a burner phone or a a work computer) to look at porn during the Ashley Madison fallout, so that way, Covenant Eyes' effectiveness was never in question. 

I think the known porn issue Justin talks about was a couple years after the molestations, during the failed Holt campaign. IIRC, at the time that Josh was being punished for the abuse, the church elders knew  but the general church membership only knew that he had committed some kind of sin and his sisters had to publicly forgive him. Was there any indication of porn viewing at that time? I really don't remember, and the Duggars have always been so opaque with their timelines.  I could see church members assuming the sin was porn, but I think if Josh were caught viewing porn around the time of the abuse,  the Duggar would have hammered that point home during the Megyn Kelly interview, stating that it was porn's fault for Josh molesting his sisters. From what I remember of what has been said so far, I think the order of events is:

Molestation>punishment>molestation again>punishment>porn ("sin in the camp" blamed for Holt's loss)>punishment by isolated pond digging>>>>porn>Ashley Madison>rehab>>>>porn>CSA materials

And TLC was there for the immediate aftermath of the molestations AND the pond digging as porn punishment. No one will ever convince me that they didn't know what was going on.

[Jeeves]

I also think that was the timeline - the molestations were revealed (in some manner) to the church and the Duggars sent him off to some Gothard project in Little Rock. The "sin in the camp" porn viewing during the Holt campaign came later, and he was sent to dig out a pond as punishment. I never had the idea that the molestations and porn viewing were all part of the same situation in terms of disclosure to the church or consequences to Josh. 

I'm also convinced the producers/TLC had to know something was up with Josh during the time he was out digging that pond and brought home for filming days. 

[Zella]

1 hour ago, lascuba said:

I think the known porn issue Justin talks about was a couple years after the molestations, during the failed Holt campaign. IIRC, at the time that Josh was being punished for the abuse, the church elders knew  but the general church membership only knew that he had committed some kind of sin and his sisters had to publicly forgive him. Was there any indication of porn viewing at that time? I really don't remember, and the Duggars have always been so opaque with their timelines.  I could see church members assuming the sin was porn, but I think if Josh were caught viewing porn around the time of the abuse,  the Duggar would have hammered that point home during the Megyn Kelly interview, stating that it was porn's fault for Josh molesting his sisters. From what I remember of what has been said so far, I think the order of events is:

Molestation>punishment>molestation again>punishment>porn ("sin in the camp" blamed for Holt's loss)>punishment by isolated pond digging>>>>porn>Ashley Madison>rehab>>>>porn>CSA materials

And TLC was there for the immediate aftermath of the molestations AND the pond digging as porn punishment. No one will ever convince me that they didn't know what was going on.

Yes the molestations predated the porn, but according to the guy who knew the family and has been talking about his experiences, he was under the impression Josh was being punished for porn. He said that the church elders almost assuredly knew the truth. But for him as just another kid in the church, there was no indication it was anything but porn. He even tried to talk to Josh about it under that assumption, and Josh never corrected him. That's why I consider it "more socially acceptable" for them to talk about it. I think in general the family was more than happy to forget about the molestations and just blame everything on porn, even though that is not at all what actually happened.