A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Duggar sisters Jill Dillard, Jinger Vuolo, Jessa Seewald and Joy Forsyth over a leaked police report from 2015.
As The Ashley previously told you, within the police report contained information claiming that eldest Duggar child– and current jailbird– Josh Duggar molested the four girls (as well as another unnamed individual) in the Duggar Family home years prior to the police report being filed.
The sisters alleged in 2017 that the leaked police report resulted in “emotional distress,” however, according to The Sun, an Arkansas judge has dismissed the case against local authorities.
According to court documents, the court found that the Duggar sisters could not prove that an invasion of privacy had occurred nor could they prove that investigators and governmental officials released the police reports without believing they were legally obligated to do so. All claims included in the lawsuit were reportedly dismissed with prejudice, which prevents a plaintiff– or plaintiffs in this case– from bringing the same claim forward again.
Following the ruling on the case, Jill released a statement on her and husband Derick Dillard’s website in which she expressed her disappointment.
“While we appreciate the hard work the Court has put into our case and we highly respect the Judge, we are disappointed with the ruling that the City and County’s statutory immunity protects them from our clients,” she wrote. “It is unfortunate that bad actors, under the guise of public service, are given a license to intentionally inflict pain without regard for innocent victims. Immunity exists to protect public servants in the event of human error. It is not to be used as an excuse to cause intentional harm.”
Jill went on to state that by illegally releasing the police report, authority was abused and “civil servants should not be allowed to weaponize their authority by disregarding the rule of law before claiming immunity.” She also claimed that the judge “made it crystal clear that the reports were illegally released.” She assured fans that both she and Derick, the latter of whom is currently pursuing a career in law, “will continue to fight for victims’ rights.”
“ … In the pursuit of justice, the impact on victims, especially child sex victims, should not be an afterthought, and they should not be relegated to collateral damage,” she continued. “Victims need to be supported and protected, not hung out to dry simply because the end justifies the means.
“They have been blamed, shamed, and bullied into silence for too long, so why are we surprised that perpetrators continue to be emboldened while victims are punished for their voice. This needs to change, and only then can victims become survivors.”
As they were gearing up for court just last month, it was revealed that the four sisters were considering a settlement in the case, though they were reportedly not looking to recoup the money that could’ve been made had the molestation scandal never been brought to light in 2015, and the Duggar’s reality show, 19 Kids & Counting, not been cancelled.
(Photos: Instagram; TLC; YouTube)
17 Responses
Yeah let’s not add to the fundie coffers
Cops fault, not that creeper brother. It’s obvious
stay lit
It’s just as well. Jim Bob would have pocketed the damages and his daughters wouldn’t have gotten a dime.
It was obvious this was going to happen. Their lawsuit said the police knowingly inflicted pain on them and that’s ridiculous. Why would police want to inflict pain on abused girls? Maybe they made a mistake but they didn’t meant to harm them
I get that they are angry, just at the wrong people.
This is wrong. It makes me ill to think about how upsetting it would be to have such a painful, private piece of information released to the world without your consent. They had the right to privacy. I don’t care what happens to Josh or Jim Bob but the girls are victims and should have been able to only have people they chose to share this with know about it not the whole world.
I agree that they have a right to privacy, so why not settle “out of court”, that makes much more since than a court battle.
Why would victims prolong their agony by being in the public eye with this unless they WANTED the publicity and notoriety?
It seems all too “hey look at me” as opposed to wanting privacy.
The only leverage people have to “settle out of court” is to actually be willing to go to court…
It’s sad an unfortunate for them to have to relive their trauma, but their names were all redacted when the records were released publicly. It was easy to determine who the victims were based on age, but the records office followed procedure ??♀️
They need therapy.
They need to direct their anger at the people who allowed this to happen their parents and their brother.
What I don’t get is if these girls don’t want the publicity that comes with what their brother unfortunately did to them what 15 years ago (that would make it 2007) then why prolong it and wait until 8 years later in 2015 to sue for the leaked police report?
I understand that until just a few years ago they were minors, but minors sue for stuff all the time.
Makes me wonder about their states of mind and ulterior motives. What are they looking to get out of it now other than attention?
What happened was bad, but it happened, your brother is in jail. It’s time to move on.
I can see how at first glance it may like they are just looking for money but there’s more to it than that. They were kids when it happened and I’m sure their parents made them believe that ‘forgive and forget’ would make everything ok. By the time it came to light they had already been in the public eye for years and now it follows them. They are adults now trying to heal wounds that were never properly cared for to begin with. They are also all married and out of that sheltered house and extreme upbringing. They likely have a much greater understanding of how their parents failed them and how the authorities failed them when the records were released. So it makes sense that they would sue now that they are adults and have learned more. As for it being public… what’s the point of trying to hide the lawsuit when everything else is already public?
I TOTALLY agree, I just don’t get why if they want privacy why add to the publicity by making THEMSELVES public, the act(s) are already public enough as it is, why prolong THEIR agony?
If they want privacy, why continually put themselves in the public eye?
Let the sleeping dog lie, the only way to heal is to move on through therapy (even if it’s just therapy involving themselves in private).
Shame they can’t sue the perpetrator – their BROTHER – for the distress his actions have caused.
I don’t know the US legal system – could they sue through civil channels or has too much time passed?
They could civilly sue Josh, if that’s what you’re asking; I doubt they ever would, though, due to Jim Bob. This lawsuit is a civil case against the city of Springdale.
Jim Bob diesnt care about these womens privacy being violated. They are only suing so they can get money. Since their money mking TV cancelled them.
I’m sure they could sue him if they wanted to but they don’t (or can’t, in the case of the ones still under Jim Bob’s thumb)