Jinger Duggar is the fourth in line of the 19 Kids and Counting daughters. This no doubt has some wondering if she was among the siblings Josh Duggar reportedly molested as a teenager.
Fox News reports that Josh Duggar sexually molested four of his female siblings and had one non-relative female victim. Might Jinger Duggar, Jana Duggar, Jill Duggar Dillard, and Jessa Duggar Seewald have been among his victims?
Jinger Duggar is especially close to sister Jessa, and reportedly had a really hard time when Jessa flew the coop last November, marrying Ben Seewald. Jessa Duggar Seewald and her husband are now expecting their first baby.
“It was super hard, just those moments right before Jessa got married realising that our relationship was going to change,” Jinger said during an interview with Us Weekly “That was a really tough time.”
Jinger Duggar is 21! See how the family celebrated on her milestone birthday: http://t.co/T43H8LDvrE
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) December 22, 2014
19 Kids and Counting matriarch Michelle Duggar says all the siblings are close, and that’s why each feels the absence of those who move out.
“It definitely feels different here at home because whenever there’s one that’s not here there’s that gap,” Michelle shared. “We are such a close-knit family that you notice when one’s not here.”‘
Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar were well aware of what Josh Duggar did to his victims. They prayed with him and sent him to some kind of a Christian work program when his actions came to their attention all those years ago.
Josh Duggar and his parents gave statements to People magazine about his past actions.
“Back 12 years ago our family went through one of the most difficult times of our lives. 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,” Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar said.
“Even though we would never choose to go through something so terrible, each one of our family members drew closer to God. We pray that as people watch our lives they see that we are not a perfect family,” the statement read.
“I would do anything to go back to those teen years and take different actions,” Josh said in a separate statement released by People, “I sought forgiveness from those I had wronged and asked Christ to forgive me and come into my life. In my life today, I am so very thankful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.”
#19KidsandCounting molestation scandal: what we know so far about #JoshDuggar's controversy http://t.co/xpDgbShf0Z pic.twitter.com/h4cv3AvUlW
— Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton) May 23, 2015
If Jinger Duggar was one of Josh Duggar’s victims, might that be why she felt so awful when sister Jessa Duggar moved out? Did Jessa perhaps assume the role of protector for Jinger in the wake of Josh’s actions? Jana Duggar and Jill Duggar Dillard are very close–each having trained as midwives. Perhaps that left Jessa and Jinger as even closer confidantes.
It’s possible that no one will ever know the names of Josh Duggar’s victims because they were minors at the time, and aren’t even listed on the police report.
"What TLC has been putting on the air since 2008 with the Duggar family is, simply, a moral fraud" http://t.co/ujUE52mj12
— TIME.com (@TIME) May 22, 2015
And even though the 19 Kids and Counting family prayed and drew closer to one another during that terrible time, could a sister ever truly get over being molested by her brother?