State trooper claims Jim Bob Duggar LIED to him about Josh's molestation of young girls

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Joseph Hutchens spoke to Jim Bob and Josh at a police station in 2003
He claims the father-of-19 lied about his son's molestation of young girls
'He said [the inappropriate touching] only happened one time,' he alleged
It later emerged Josh had molested 5 girls - in some cases, in their sleep
Hutchens regretted decision to simply give Josh warning and let him go
The ex-state trooper, 69, was himself jailed in 2007 for child pornography
He is serving a 60-year sentence, but he will be eligible for parole in 2020
Explosive 2006 police report detailing Josh's actions revealed last week

Published: 10:55 EST, 27 May 2015 | Updated: 14:07 EST, 27 May 2015

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A former state trooper says Jim Bob Duggar lied when he brought his eldest son Josh to him in 2003 after learning that the teen had molested five young girls.

Joseph Hutchens, whom the Duggars considered a friend and was later himself imprisoned on child pornography charges, said the father-of-19 took Josh to the Arkansas State Police station to speak to him.

But instead of admitting that his son had inappropriately touched several minors over the course of a year - as detailed in an explosive 2006 police report released last week - Jim Bob said he had molested only one, he said.

'Jim Bob explained to me that Josh inappropriately touched [a victim] while she was asleep,' Hutchens said in an interview for InTouch Magazine. 'He said it only happened one time.'

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'Lies': Joseph Hutchens - who Jim Bob Duggar (pictured, right, with his wife, Michelle, last year) brought his eldest son Josh to in 2003 after learning that he had molested five young girls - has claimed that the father-of-19 lied to him about the matter. Left, Hutchens, who was later jailed himself, is pictured in a 2010 mugshot

Scandal: Instead of admitting that Josh (pictured with his pregnant wife, Anna, in February this year) had inappropriately touched several minors, Jim Bob said his son had molested only one, Hutchens alleged

The current prison inmate added: 'Jim Bob sat down and Josh was crying. He said he touched [a victim] through her clothing... [They said] the girl was asleep and didn't know anything had happened.

'They also told me that the pastor had already been involved.'

Last week, it was revealed that Jim Bob, 49, and Michelle, 47, informed some of the elders at their church about Josh's actions in 2003, before sending their son away to a faith-based healing facility.

But aside from Jim Bob's meeting with Hutchens, they did not inform authorities. The molestation scandal only came to light after an anonymous email was sent to Oprah Winfrey's team in 2006.

During the interview for InTouch Magazine's June 8 edition, Hutchens admitted that his decision not to report Josh's actions to the Child Abuse Hotline - as required by law - was 'not the right one'.

The 69-year-old said that the victim that he was told about during his 2003 meeting with the 19 Kids and Counting stars, and two other unidentified people, 'should have been my first priority'.

He added that he has 'lost lots of sleep' over his decision, saying: 'I am a Christian myself and I worry that if something else had happened [after the meeting], I would have been responsible.'

Meeting: 'Jim Bob explained to me that Josh inappropriately touched [a victim] while she was asleep,' Hutchens (pictured, left, in a 2007 police mugshot) said in an interview for InTouch Magazine. 'He said it only happened one time.' Right, Josh is seen in a photo taken in 2003 (right), the same year he met with Hutchens

Station: Hutchens met with Jim Bob and Josh at Arkansas State Police station (pictured). The trooper admits that his decision not to report Josh's actions to the Child Abuse Hotline at the time was 'not the right one

Josh Duggar apologizes amid child molestation allegations

However, he said that at the police station in Little Rock, Jim Bob had made it out to be only a 'one-time incident'. This, he said, had persuaded him to give Josh a 'stern warning' and then let him go.

Speaking to InTouch Magazine, criminal defense attorney Carmen Roberto, of Ohio, said that Jim Bob's alleged lies could be considered child endangerment, if Hutchens's account is correct.

Hutchens was interviewed at Wrightsville Hawkins Unit, south of Little Rock, Arkansas, by a local law firm employee on behalf of the magazine. He was told his interview was part of an investigation.

Four years after his 2003 meeting with Jim Bob and Josh, the then-trooper was convicted and sentenced on pornography charges. He spent three years in prison, before being released in 2010.

However, soon after his release, he was arrested again and charged with four counts of distribution, possession or viewing of sexually explicit material involving a child, according to Radar Online.

He is currently serving a 60-year sentence, though he will be eligible for parole in November 2020.

All the gang: Jim Bob, Michelle and children in 2014 - the year that she made the remarks about transgender people

JOSH DUGGAR'S MOLESTATION OF MINORS

In March 2002, an unnamed minor said that Josh Duggar, then 14, 'had been touching her breasts and genitals while she slept.'

He would admit to this a few months later in July, and a member of the family claims they had a meeting to discuss the incident.

Then, in March 2003, 'several' minors came forward to say that Josh had been touching them 'when they sleep,' leading to his father Jim Bob holding another family meeting and deciding to speak with elders at the family's church about the offenses.

It was suggested that Josh should enter a treatment program, at which point he spent four months in Little Rock, Arkansas helping a family friend remodel a building.

Upon his return, Jim Bob informed those aware of the situation that Josh had received counseling and took him to a family friend who was a state trooper to reveal what had occurred, resulting in the teenager getting a stern lecture but no formal report being filed by police.

By all accounts, the offenses stopped and Josh apologized to the victim, but some time in 2006 an individual in the church who had borrowed a book from the Duggars found a note detailing Josh's molestation of minors.

That person then sent that information in an email to The Oprah Winfrey Show shortly before the Duggars were set to appear, and they in turn notified authorities who began conducted an investigation.

Jim Bob and Michelle along with all the victims were interviewed, though Josh was made unavailable to speak by his parents and no charges were pursued in the end as the statute of limitations had by that point run out.

Last Thursday, the 2006 police report was released into the public domain. It states that in March 2002, a girl came forward saying Josh 'had been touching her breasts and genitals while she slept.'

Shortly after, Josh - who now has three children of his own, and another on the way, with wife Anna - admitted his actions to his parents. At the time, the family had a meeting, but did not inform the authorities.

A year later, 'several' more minors came forward to say that Josh had touched them, and the teen was sent away to the Basic Life Principles Training Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, for treatment.

Jim Bob explained to me that Josh inappropriately touched [a victim] while she was asleep... he said it only happened one time

Joseph Hutchens, ex-state trooper

It was also in 2003 that Jim Bob, Josh and Hutchens met at Arkansas State Police station.

Authorities only became aware of Josh's actions in 2006 after Oprah Winfrey's production team alerted them to the email they had been sent warning the host about the molestation scandal.

According to TMZ, the Harpo staff received the email at 7:30am and contacted authorities right away on December 7.

Police then called Michelle and Jim Bob at 1:17pm telling them they needed to bring their son in for questioning. Winfrey, meanwhile, immediately sent the family back home.

The scandal became public knowledge last Thursday when the police report accusing Josh of molestation was obtained by InTouch Magazine - prompting Josh to confirm the sordid claims. The police report detailed Josh's molestation of five minors in 2002 and 2003.

He was never charged with a crime for the incidents as by the time police learned of the offenses the statue of limitations had passed, and his parents did not notify authorities in an official capacity.

'A technicality prevented any further action,' a source told InTouch Magazine last week.

Happy family snap: Michelle and Jim, Bob beam head out to vote in the latter's 2002 run for a seat in the US Senate with their children. Just months earlier, Josh, now aged 27, had admitted to molesting young girls

Family: Josh (center) stands beside his mother (far left) as he and his daughter are interviewed on 'Extra'

TLC pull reality series '19 Kids and Counting' from schedule

Last week, the father-of-three, who is now aged 27 and married to his wife, Anna, issued a public apology for his actions as a teenager, admitting that he had 'acted inexcusably'.

'Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends,' Josh said in a statement.

'I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation.

'We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling.'

He also resigned from his position at the Family Research Council in Washington D.C.

Jim Bob and Michelle - a former Arkansas 'Mother of the Year' - released their own statement, saying: 'Back 12 years ago our family went through one of the most difficult times of our lives.

Over for good? TLC pulled 19 Kids and Counting off its schedule on May 22 following the revelation that Josh molested young girls as a teenager. Did TLC executives ask why the Duggar appearance was cancelled? Or did the network know? If they did, they aren't acknowledging it now. Above, the family in a show advert

Dropped: TLC has pulled Jim Bob Duggar, his wife Michelle and their 19 children from its highly-anticipated Summer Block Party, which is taking place in Philadelphia at noon on Saturday. Above, Little People Big World's Roloff family (right) has replaced a photo of Jim Bob and Michelle (left) on the event's official poster

'When Josh was a young teenager, he made some very bad mistakes, and we were shocked. We had tried to teach him right from wrong.

That dark and difficult time caused us to seek God like never before.'

Following the revelations concerning Josh's molestation of young girls, General Mills said it had 'blacklisted' the TLC show, 19 Kids and Counting, and removed it from its advertising schedule.

Payless Shoesource Inc and Choice Hotels International Inc have since done the same.

And on Friday, TLC pulled the show from its schedule. The move came one day after the network decided to run a marathon of the show that heavily featured Josh, which had outraged fans.

TLC is yet to comment on the program's long-term future. It is also yet to address queries over how TLC executives were apparently unaware of Josh's molestation claims following the Oprah incident.

Josh and Anna Duggar appear in 19 Kids and Counting (2013)

TLC'S CHILD MOLESTER PROBLEM

The Duggar child molestation scandal is just the latest in a long line of incidents involving inappropriate behavior by a TLC star with a minor.

-Here Comes Honey Boo Boo: The show was cancelled last year after photos emerged of star June Shannon, better known as Mama June, with her ex Mark McDaniel. McDaniel had just been released from jail at the time after serving time for molesting an 8-year-old girl. That girl was one of Shannon's daughters.

-Sons of Guns: Gunsmith and former Marine Will Hayden was charged with raping a 12-year-old girl in 2014, forcing TLC to quickly cancel the reality show. That girl was revealed to be his own daughter, and shortly after his other daughter came forward she too had been raped by Hayden when she was 12-years-old. He is currently awaiting trial.

-Cheer Perfection: Another reality the network had to cancel following a scandal, this time involving mother Andrea Clevenger who received two 10 year prison sentences when she was found guilty of having multiple sexual encounters with a boy in 2013 who was just 13.

-Cake Boss: Remigio Gonzalez, who was married to the sister of the show's title character Buddy Valastro, received nine years in prison in 2012 after he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl. While he did appear on that show, by the time these charges were brought against him he was no longer a character on the program.

The network has also pulled the Duggars from its Summer Block Party event, Philly.com reported.

The family had originally been slated to appear at the event, which features a number of network stars and is open and free to the public - and had even appeared on the party's official poster.

But they have since been dropped from the party, while Little People Big World's Roloff family has replaced Jim Bob and Michelle on the poster, according to screenshots from the event's website.

Other stars who will appear at the event include Berks County's Kate Gosselin, Randy from Say Yes to the Dress, and New Jersey's 'Cake Boss' Buddy Valastro, as well as the Roloff family.

On Friday night, Arkansas police confirmed that they had destroyed the report on Josh after one of his victims came forward and requested the document be expunged from public record.

The girl told a judge she feared her name would be released and she was still a minor. The judge agreed and signed off to have the report into the nine-year-old investigation destroyed.