My guess in a situation like that CPS involvement was trying to be avoided. That can be a nightmare all in it's own more so for the innocents. The victims would see court many times. If you've never been involved in the juvenile issues legal system consider yourself very blessed. It is not a place of truth & justice but rather agendas.
Knowing this took place professional help for the victims should have been sought ASAP. Shop wisely though for that help. CPS involvement which the Cop should have reported it too would have been unavoidable. As well and LCSW/Therapist or mental or healthcare professional with knowledge abuse has taken place is by law required to report it. Which "might" have been the reluctance.
Developmental judgement in a 14 year old is not the same as a 17 year old either. Yes they know right from wrong but a lot of pressure and confusion is there and that's why parents have to be vigilant. It's a parents job to the best of their ability to see to it they don't.
None of us know the full extent of what all happened. Their TV deal was a very bad idea. That brought their family under a microscope by media and others. The welfare and well being of kids must come first and yes juvie records should remain sealed so as the victims identity not be revealed if possible even to family name.
No matter what ones opinion is on this most families in this nation sad to say are in some way affected by molestation/abuse. Not meaning every kid but rather a family member such as sibling or cousin or a parent it happened to as a child. Many victims carry the pain in silence for decades. Most cases never get reported for many reason including fear.. Yeah it could be another kids as the perp but more likely usually a trusted adult they know..
All this story has done is scored a political hit and forced the innocents involved to live through it yet again. All for entertainment value and news ratings.
It will take a trained LCSW years to help the victims. The sooner the help the better the outcome.
The post to which I am replying is a very good post.
There is a lot of tension involved in trying to figure out how to handle a situation like this as a parent. It is very easy for all the armchair quarterbacks to make proclamations about “they shoulda ‘this’” or “they shoulda ‘that’” at the time of these violations. Walk a mile in their shoes, folks, before you go into soapbox mode.
I can appreciate the Duggars being deeply (and arguably appropriately) convicted that Christ is the only avenue for true rehabilitation and reconciliation for Josh, and that He is also the best avenue for healing for the girls. Bringing in the government, with its “eliminate God” and take down Christians agenda, would be succumbing to the antithesis of what they believe in their hearts. Turning the matter over to CPS opens the door to all sorts of potentially harmful things for all involved, including having a secular, agenda-driven whacko pseudo-psychiatrist retraining the minds of the girls to be life-long victims - instead of being healed in a Biblical way.
There have also been a lot of proclamations that justice was not served on Josh. The reality is that, even in the face of the egregious acts he committed, had law enforcement been more involved and had he become part of the ‘system’, there would not have been any ‘pound of flesh’ justice imposed on him. He would have become part of the “system”, and by the age of 18 it would have been done and over with, if not long before. Child-on-child sex crimes just do not carry with them significant criminal implications. As has been noted earlier, the victims have to endure a terrible process through investigation and prosecution by re-living, re-telling, and potentially being confronted by their perpetrator - it’s a price that often times is not worth paying. Prosecutors know it, and I don’t blame parents for protecting their kids from it.
One thing that really bothers me is the countless posts suggesting that Josh’s daughter is currently at great risk and that CPS “must step in now!” I understand the emotion this high-profile, terrible news stirs up - but please, folks, stop the hysteria.
I can agree wholeheartedly with others about the fact that Jim Bob and Michelle made a terrible, selfish mistake by dragging their family into the limelight with knowledge that this happened. It has harmed the Christian, conservative, home school message greatly. Most sadly, what was private, embarrassing, and difficult for the girls is now tabloid headline material which will never, ever go away. You and I should have NEVER known about this. Shame, shame, shame on Mr. and Mrs. Duggar.