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Duggar Dad’s Claim Police Report On Josh Was Released Illegally Is False, Says City Attorney

The Duggars are claiming the police records detailing Josh Duggars sexual molestation of four girls when he was a teen were released illegally, and their defenders on the right agree. According to law enforcement and legal experts, they’re wrong.

During their Fox News interview Wednesday night, the Duggars claimed the real story here the media is ignoring is that In Touch magazine illegally obtained sealed police records detailing their son Josh‘s sexual molestations. 

“It has been an unprecedented attack on our family. And this information was released illegally,” Jim Bob Duggar said on national TV. “And so I’m wondering why all this press is not going after the system for releasing these juvenile records. That is a huge story.”

He also suggested the records were released in part thanks to a “bribe or personal agenda.”

Those allegations are false, says Springdale, Arkansas City Attorney Ernest Cate.

“On 5/20/15, in full compliance with Arkansas Law, the Springdale Police Department responded to a records request under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act,” Cate said in a statement. “The requested record was not sealed or expunged, and at the time the report was filed, the person listed in the report was an adult. Any names of minors included in the report, as well as pronouns, were redacted from the report by the Springdale Police Department in compliance with Arkansas law prior to release.”

Local Arkansas’ 5News reports on a second police report also published, saying In Touch “obtained an incident report from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office regarding the allegations made in the Springdale Police Department report and published it on June 3,” and adding that the “Washington County Sheriff’s Office released a statement the same day addressing why the report was released.”

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette quotes Little Rock attorney John Tull, “who specializes in public-record cases.”

I don’t think [the agencies] had a choice,” Tull told the Democrat Gazette. “They had to release the reports. Those records are not closed under FOI. The alleged perpetrator had attained his majority at the time it was released, and once his name and all the victims’ names were blacked out, it was subject to FOI.”

The Democrat Gazette also reports that the “Washington County sheriff’s office also cited five state attorney general’s opinions going back to 1992, all stating that such records are not exempt.”

 

Image: Screenshot via Fox News
Hat tip: In Touch and Raw Story

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