Josh Duggar Found Guilty in Child Sex Abuse Materials Case

Advocate: “The right result happened not because of the faith community, not the family, or even the church.”

Josh Duggar has been convicted of receiving and possessing material that depicts the sexual abuse of children, a decision that provides a moment of consolation for Christian victims and advocates fighting against abuse coverup.

Duggar, the oldest sibling in the Christian homeschooling family made famous by the reality show 19 Kids and Counting, was taken into custody after the federal jury delivered the guilty verdict at a court in Arkansas on Thursday. He faces up to 40 years in prison.

“For everyone who was abused within their households or in their religious communities where nothing was done, where the male was given a second chance, where there was some excuse or minimization used, 

seeing Josh Duggar go to prison gives them some vindication or maybe some hope that the right result can happen,” said Boz Tchividjian, a sexual abuse attorney and advocate who founded GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment).

“But the right result happened not because the faith community, not the family, or even the church, rose up and said, ‘Absolutely not. We cannot tolerate this type of crime.’”

Duggar’s conviction comes from material that federal investigators found on his computer at the car lot where he worked in May 2019. One investigator said the images of young children were the worst he had seen in his career.

Knowing Duggar’s history and seeing family and church leaders come to his defense, some Christians have suggested he could have had a different trajectory if he was held accountable or given necessary treatment earlier.

“I am grateful he was found guilty and will be put away where he can’t hurt anyone, but it is hard to feel jubilation,” tweeted ...

Continue reading...umn ministry 

from Christianity Today Magazine
via