Josh Duggar of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting

Should TLC's Josh Duggar Be Forgiven?

Josh Duggar is an admitted child molester.  It may be true, that his actions were roughly a decade ago, but this doesn't change the fact that he victimized his family members and impacted the lives of several young women in the process.  He may be indeed be a reformed man, however, sex offenders without extensive treatment are highly likely to re-offend.  We now know that Josh Duggar sexually took advantage of five girls when he was younger.  However, is that the full extent of his victimization of children?  We will never know.

A Pedophile with 19 children.

Clearly, no evidence exists that Josh Duggar has molested any of his nineteen children, my hope is that nothing ever happened, but the concern is there.  Josh is focusing on how God has forgiven him, as a believer myself, this has always bothered me.  Josh will not know if God has truly forgiven his actions until he is before the Lord at that time of Final Judgment.  God may forgive him, assuming that Josh has repented and lived a clean life following his despicable acts.  However, this does not mean that we as the public should forgive him.  Josh committed heinous sexual acts that should have been prosecuted, and Josh should have met the punishment that every other sexual offender/sexual predator under the same circumstances would have met, prison time, and a long sentence at that.

Depending on the specific acts that Josh Duggar did in his victimization of these young women, in a State like Florida he would have been likely facing up to life in prison or at minimum a decades-long sentence.  In Florida, Josh would have been labeled as a Sexual Offender/ Sexual Predator and would have had stringent requirements for the rest of his life.  Josh Duggar would not be an affluent reality television star, no, not even close.  If Josh Duggar had been prosecuted for his crimes, he would be a man who would struggle to find a job, to find a place to live, and to find acceptance in society.  Plenty of good people's lives have been ruined based on sex offenses that they either did not commit or were petty in nature (Georgia oral sex case comes to mind).  But Josh Duggar gets a reality tv show and notoriety.  The mistakes of the past have a funny way of catching up to people, and Josh Duggan is finally, after all these years, receiving his punishment.

What about his family and his wife?

I have no idea what the thought process of his wife was when she found out Josh Duggar's illegal sexual acts, but, she should not be dragged through the mud for all of this.  His wife made a questionable decision when it came to accepting his past, however, she did not commit the sexual molestation.  His wife is now another victim of Josh Duggar.  She is undoubtedly receiving extreme criticism for her knowledge of his acts, and that is not fair.  By all knowing accounts, she has lived a good life, and has done good by her children.  Her life does not deserve to be turned upside down by the past deeds of her husband.

The same goes for the family, both the children and the extended family.  The children now have to live with the fact that their father was a child molester.  This is an awful revelation for any child or grown adult.  Nevertheless, they are now subjected to the relentless media hounding that accompanies a revelation as large as this.  I do sincerely hope for the best for the family of Josh Duggar, but as for Mr. Duggar himself, he should not be forgiven.  TLC should pull the plug once and for all on his TV show.

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