Four of the Duggar sisters, who appeared on the former TLC show “19 Kids and Counting” have filed a lawsuit after the police reports that implied their brother Josh Duggar had sexually abused them were disseminated to the media. Jill Dillard, Jessa Seewald, Joy Duggar, and Jinger Duggar (the two older sisters are married and have changed their names) have filed a federal breach-of-privacy lawsuit against the city of Springdale and Washington County, Arkansas, as well as some officials involved in the investigation, and In Touch.

Stories about Josh’s abuse surfaced in 2015, but the abuse claims stem from 2006. The police reports were released as the result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made in 2015 by In Touch. In Touch approached the city officials for the documents after an anonymous tipster came to its writers with claims about Josh Duggar. The sisters argue that when they talked to the investigators in 2006 they were told that the information would be kept confidential, and under Arkansas’ FOIA rules, interviews with minors cannot be disclosed.

Essentially the sisters argue that the FOIA request shouldn’t have been complied with on the officials’ part, or at the very least the documents should have been heavily redacted. The documents provided to In Touch were somewhat redacted–in that the names of the girls and Josh were blacked out, but they still contained the names of their parents. According to the lawsuit it was easy to determine who the victims were based on that information. The sisters are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. They have also released a statement, claiming that the filed the lawsuit to protect abuse victims in the future from breaches to their privacy

“19 Kids and Counting” was cancelled after the allegations about Josh Duggar, and his parents’ horrific choice to cover up the abuse. Duggar allegedly sexually abused five girls when he was a teenager–four were his sisters–by fondling them while they slept. After those revelations, sponsors began pulling out of the show, and it was cancelled by TLC. Additionally Josh Duggar, who was working at the time at the incredibly conservative Family Research Council, resigned from his job.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Josh Duggar, of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” fame is in trouble again. This time, he’s being sued by porn star Danica Dillon for emotional and physical damage she sustained while the two had consensual sex.

Dillon, whose non-stage name is Ashley Stamm-Northup, filed the suit on Tuesday. She’s asking for $500,000 total in damages. She alleges that the two had sex twice earlier this spring, after they met in a strip club in Philadelphia. By her account, he paid her $600 for lap dances and then they went back to his hotel room, where he gave her another $1500 for sex.

However, while that sex started as consensual, Dillon claims that it turned too rough, he manhandled her, and that “it felt as if she were being raped.” She claims that it exceeded her consent at that point. Then, when Duggar allegedly tried to “apologize” to Dillon for the encounter a month later, the same thing happened–they engaged in consensual sex that turned too rough.

Dillon claims that Duggar “assaulted her to the point of causing her physical and emotional injuries” and that she is now seeing a doctor for the severe anxiety caused by the encounters. The lawsuit claims that she is suffering from mental anguish similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. Finally, she claims that as a result of the injuries she sustained from Duggar, she has been unable to “work in her chosen field”–presumably pornography.

Duggar has been a popular topic for the press so far this year, particularly after revelations surfaced that he molested young women as a teenager, including a few of his younger sisters. He resigned his position at the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian advocacy group that lobbies against gay rights, abortion, pornography, and other social issues. Then, his name was posted during the Ashley Madison data breach this summer, and contained credit card information linking him to the infamous cheating site. He checked himself into rehab shortly after that data was released.

In a statement based on those events, Duggar said:

As I am learning the hard way, we have the freedom to choose to our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences. I deeply regret all hurt I have caused so many by being such a bad example. I humbly ask for your forgiveness.

In light of this lawsuit, Duggar may have to testify about his history, including the past crimes of molestation that his family covered up. Duggar can’t seem to stay out of the news for long, and this lawsuit may open the door to even more horrific revelations.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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