Fans of the reality show The Willis Family were shocked last week when Willis family patriarch, Toby Willis, was arrested in Kentucky on a charge of child rape. In the days since the arrest, more information has come out about Toby’s alleged crime, and it continues to get more and more disturbing.
Toby reportedly came under investigation in late August, after police were tipped off that Toby may have had a sexual encounter with a child about 12 years ago.
While his alleged victim has not been named, The Daily Beast reports that the ‘child rape’ charge only comes into play in Tennessee if the alleged victim is between the ages of 3 and 12. According to court documents obtained by FOX411, the alleged victim is a female family member of Toby’s.
“The report stated she was removed by Willis from her bed and raped,” Nashville’s Newschannel 5 reported on Wednesday. “The reports added unlawful penetration by Willis took place when the child was older than 3 but younger than 13. Authorities confirmed Willis was told he was not allowed to go around his biological children or his wife.”
Toby and his wife, Brenda, are the parents of 12 children–eight girls and four boys. Authorities have not stated or confirmed that Toby’s alleged victim was one of his own children, but Newchannel 5 is reporting that she was a family member.
Toby’s wife Brenda issued a statement after her husband’s arrest, letting fans know that the family band will not be giving any performances. She also made it clear that she is siding with the District Attorney’s Office, which is quite telling in itself.
“I was shocked and devastated by the revelation of events leading to Toby Willis’ arrest,” she said in the statement. “As these are very trying times for the Willis family, I kindly ask all to respect our family’s privacy. As a mother of twelve, my first priority remains with my children and helping them through this traumatic event.
While the family went ahead with their concert that was scheduled in Greenville on the day Toby was arrested (he was picked up at the venue), it appears that will be their last show for a while.
“We are cancelling all appearances for the foreseeable future to focus on the children and their well-being,” Brenda Willis said in her statement. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We have, and will continue, to fully cooperate with law enforcement officials and ask that you direct all inquires regarding Toby Willis’ case to the District Attorney’s office who have our complete support.”
The family has taken down all of their social media accounts, as well as their official website.
TLC, the network in which ‘The Willis Family’ reality show ran for two seasons, quietly cancelled the show in May, but after Toby’s arrest, TLC issued a statement confirming that the show will no longer air.
“TLC did not renew ‘The Willis Family’ and new episodes have not aired since April 2016. We are shocked to hear this news,” the network told FOX411.
Toby is now sitting in a Tennessee jail (after being moved from Kentucky’s Muhlenberg County Jail earlier this week). His preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 21 in Nashville.
(Photos: TLC)
16 Responses
Praying for Brenda and her children. So sad. I loved watching their show and really enjoyed when they performed. I know God will help you all through thus terrible time.
Hi enjoyed the willis family with their singing and dancing, are they going to start up the clan again? if so when? What is the latest on Toby Willis can’t seem to find anything .Has he gone to trial yet? DO you have a site i can go to check on his situation . thank you for your help .
Your blog states that he was picked up at the venue in TN while other news outlets say that he FLED the state of KY and hitch hiked to TN where they picked him up. Which is it? For this reason, it’s hard to trust any journalism today. Anyone can write anything they want.
I’ve wondered for a long time if he,had done something to either JANETT or JASMINE. Or Jessica, she seems so full of hate. Prayers go out to this family.
Can you please give me an example of how Jessica seems so full of hate? I’ve never seen that side of her.
Disgusting, he needs the same treatment in Jail!!!
What an animal.
So, so sad everything…I am speechless. Terribly circumstances, all initiated by Mr. Willises criminal behavior.You never ever violate children, period! There is no excuse and no forgiving!
I feel for sorry for his wife and children. When the show was on I saw something I did not like in how he treated the children. I remember an episode where he had one of his daughters in tears and was, I thought rather hard on her. He needed to quit pushing her into singing solo when she clearly did not want to do it. What a b…..d! Isn’t his father a minister!!!! Shame on Toby Willis. May you rot in hell. You have ruined and damaged your beautiful family. I hope you never see them again.
So sad!!!!! I just want to tell Brenda and the family that NONE of this is your fault in any way, form or fashion. I’m sure thousands of fans like myself are praying for Brenda and the children. God give them strength, peace, love and protection.
The fact that this woman is standing for her children and not her husband speaks volumes
I am so sorry to hear that and I hope you are doing well. I pray that this family is able to heal now that this horrible guy is in jail
This man is human garbage. Hope he gets punished for his horrific crime.
It’s clear that it was one of his daughters. Given the mothers actions, cooperating with the DA, taking down all social media, cancelling all shows, referring to him in his full name rather than her husband, and putting her children first. Probably one of the girls told someone and they tipped the cops off. How horrible.
God bless this woman for putting her children first. I was my Father’s victim from age 3 to 16, when I left home. I would say, with some certainty, tat he didn’t just one night out of the blue, rape this child. A child molester has many victims before being caught, reported, and prosecuted. Most get away with it for years, if not forever. Who knows how many lives this man has left in his wake. I hope he never sees the outside of a jail cell again (unlikely).
I am so sorry to hear that, every victim of a crime that vile is one too many, especially when the children are not being protected by the other parent, meaning they are a victim every day, not the one time. I hope you are doing well and I hope the victim of the monster mentioned here will get through this as well as can be in such a situation.