Duggar sisters to speak out
THE major TV networks are fighting over an exclusive interview with the four Duggar sisters following their lawsuit against a tabloid magazine and Arkansas authorities who allowed their names to be revealed as alleged victims of sexual molestation by their older brother Josh Duggar.
NBC’s Megyn Kelly, CNN and Fox News’ top anchors are bidding for the interview with Jill Dillard, Jessa Seewald, Jinger Vuolo and Joy-Anna Duggar after their lawsuit was filed against In Touch magazine and the authorities who gave the publication documents that made it easy to identify them.
A source told Page Six, “This isn’t about money. It is about making a statement that we must pro- tect children who are victims of sexual abuse. They are hoping for a settlement in the range of $10 million to $15 million.”
The suit states that the four sisters told police they were molested by Josh between 2002 and 2003, when they were minors. One was just 5 years old at the time. They claim in the federal suit that investigators promised them confidentiality.
But they claim that city and law-enforcement officials of the city of Springdale and Washington County, Ark., breached that promise when, in 2015, they released improperly redacted documents requested by In Touch under a Freedom of Information Act request, leading the sisters to be identified as four of his five alleged victims. Josh is the oldest child in the family featured in the now-canceled TLC series “19 Kids and Counting.” He was not charged or prosecuted.
The suit claims that In Touch published nine articles about the Duggars, which caused the girls to “relive painful memories” and suffer “severe mental anguish and distress [after] being publicly identified as being victims of sexual abuse as minors.” The sisters said in a statement, “This case is solely about protecting children who are victims of abuse. Revealing juvenile identities under these circumstances is unacceptable, and it’s against the law. The media and custodians of public records who let these children down must be held accountable.” In Touch didn’t comment.