Jill Duggar reveals heartbreaking details of extreme stress she suffered after Josh’s molestation scandal was exposed
JILL Duggar revealed the heartbreaking details of the extreme stress she suffered after her brother Josh’s molestation scandal was exposed.
Sisters Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy-Anna sued the City of Springdale, police department employees and other Defendants for invasion of privacy, claiming releasing their oldest brother Josh’s molestation police report caused "emotional distress.”
, 31, and , 29, came forward as two of the five victims that were molested in the family home in 2006, while Jinger, 28, and Joy-Anna, 24, have not.
The case was dismissed ahead of trial, as a judge ruled that the sisters failed to prove the released report caused emotional distress.
The Sun can exclusively reveal from newly unsealed court papers the painful stress Jill and Jessa suffered when the report became public in 2015.
In Jill’s deposition taken on September 1, 2021, she was asked if she suffered “physical injury” as a result of the report’s release.
She explained: “The stress from it all caused me to be so stressed that, like, I almost, like – almost thrown up a couple of times.
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“And like, hair loss, and stress like that, those kinds of things.”
Jill, who is pregnant with her third child with husband Derick Dillard, did not seek treatment for the “physical” symptoms, though she did see a therapist.
She added of the "beneficial" therapy: “I believe it’s good for anyone.”
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'SCARRED'
Jill’s sister Jessa also spoke of the aftermath of the report being released.
Jessa said of “negative emotions” from the release of the report in her September 13, 2021 deposition: “Definitely faded. It’s kind of like you get injured and it bleeds and you bandage it.
“And you’re never quite the same, but you do get a scar eventually.”
While she never received counseling or medical care, she did seek support from her husband, Ben Seewald.
Jessa explained: “I mean, if you call my husband a counselor. I certainly have cried my heart out to him and stayed awake a lot of nights talking through things with him. But that’s the extent of it.”
'EMOTIONALLY OVERWHELMED'
As The Sun previously reported, the court papers also included the Preliminary Psychological Opinion on Jill.
In the documents, Jill revealed her counselor noted she suffered from “revictimization” and “trauma” following the release of the records.
Jill continues weekly sessions with her husband.
The opinion read of her current symptoms following the release of the records: “On a regular basis, she feels emotionally overwhelmed and prone to tears… She actively strives to manage emotions, distract herself and ‘not think about’ the ‘ubiquitous’ triggers. She tries to bury it.”
The former star described her childhood as “harmonious, happy and stimulating.”
She was “close” with her 18 siblings and had “loving” parents.
'ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE'
The Duggars then experienced a “family-wide crisis” that included Josh being interviewed by police and being sent to residential treatment, and Jill disclosing the abuse to authorities.
The release of the records in 2015 resulted in “devastating consequences,” as she said “all hell broke loose.”
Jill said: “The trauma is hitting me again, harder than expected, and I anticipate being drug through the mud again just in an effort to get justice.”
Jill, who is estranged from her dad, Jim Bob, and mom, Michelle, also elaborated on her relationship with her parents, as she “longs” to have a relationship with her father again.
She said: “My husband and I have had to create some pretty strict boundaries right now to protect our sanity. We pretty much only see him right now at weddings and funerals.
"I think sometimes he wishes we would just ‘get over it’ and go back to how things used to be… doing things his way.”
She continued that she wouldn’t want to try to talk their issues out in a smaller setting, as there are “too many triggers.”
As for her mom Michelle, she explained she is “hurting” and wishes her husband Jim Bob would “shut his mouth sometimes.”
While she sees her more than Jim Bob, she said it’s still “triggering” and “awkward.”
In her deposition taken September 1, 2021, she claimed her parents never went to therapy with her.
She said the verbal abuse consisted of her father “looking” at her.
JOSH'S SENTENCING
The lawsuit's dismissal came just weeks before Josh was sentenced for child pornography.
He was arrested for the crime in April 2021.
Honorable Judge Timothy L Brooks sentenced Josh to 151 months in prison on May 25.
According to The Sun's court reporter, Josh appeared stoic as he received his sentence, which also includes $50,100 in fines.
As he read his decision, the judge called Josh's crimes "the sickest of the sick" to the packed courtroom.
He then said to Josh: "You have done some very bad things. But in your life as a whole, you've done good things... The true test of a man's character is what a man does when no one is watching."
Referring to Josh's insistence that he's innocent, the judge continued: "I find it aggravating about the lack of responsibility."
Judge Brooks recommended Josh participate in the Bureau of Prison's sex offender treatment program.
In the molestation police report, Jim Bob told authorities his son was sent to a Christian counseling program where he did “manual labor and had counseling.”
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Prosecutors fought for a 20-year sentence on the child pornography charges, as they feared Josh would not get the proper counseling and would re-offend again.
Josh remains in Washington County Jail in Arkansas while he waits to be transferred to federal prison.
