FRC Leader Josh Duggar Allegedly Confessed To Molesting His Own Sisters

Via TMZ:

Josh Duggar, one of the members of the family that stars in TLC's "19 Kids and Counting" ... was the subject of a police investigation for allegedly sexually molesting 5 girls, some of whom are his sisters. The story was broken by In Touch Weekly, but TMZ has confirmed with law enforcement that Josh Duggar -- who was around 14 at the time -- was the alleged molester against 5 girls starting in 2002.

According to the police report, Josh fondled the genitals and breasts of the girls, some of whom were sleeping, but sometimes they were interacting with him ... in one case reading a book. There was another reported incident 9 months later. According to the police report, the police were not immediately contacted. Instead, Jim Bob, the dad, met with church elders and agreed Josh should be put in a treatment program. The police report says Josh's mom, Michelle, said it wasn't really a treatment center ... they simply sent Josh to a guy who was remodeling a building to do manual labor.

In 2006, the family was scheduled to appear on "Oprah," and before the show someone sent an email to Harpo warning that Josh had molested girls. Harpo forwarded the email to a hotline, which triggered a police investigation. Cops wanted to question Josh, but Jim Bob lawyered him up and Josh declined the invitation.

UPDATE: From the New York Daily News:

Since the story emerged this week, even more shocking details about Josh’s alleged abuses have come out: Not only did Josh allegedly assault several young women, but his father also waited more than a year before contacting law enforcement. In Touch obtained a copy of the December 2006 Springdale, Ark., police report that showed Josh had been investigated for several offenses against five female minors, including “forcible fondling,” with some of the offenses investigated as felonies.

Jim Bob and his wife, Michelle, were interviewed for the report, which revealed Jim Bob first became aware of his son’s alleged abuses in March 2002, when he was told by a girl that Josh, then 14, had touched her breasts and genital areas on multiple occasion while she was asleep. In July 2002, Jim Bob said his son had confessed to fondling a girl while she was sleeping, which his parents responded to by disciplining him for the incident rather than reporting him to police.

The decision was made that Josh be sent to a “Christian program” (that) consisted of hard physical work and counseling,” which he was enrolled in from March 2003 to July 2003. Michelle later admitted Josh didn’t get counseling, but was sent to stay with a family friend for a period of time, who she said was “kind of” a mentor.

Duggar, normally a prolific Twitter user, has not updated his account in two days.