Jim Bob Duggar Testifies How He "Tried to Handle Things" After Son Josh "Confessed" to Touching Girls

Jim Bob Duggar is speaking out ahead of his son Josh's child pornography trial.

On Monday, Nov. 29, the former TLC star and Arkansas State Senate hopeful, 56, took the stand during an evidentiary hearing to determine if he and family friend Bobye Holt could testify in front of a jury during in Josh's upcoming trial, E! News confirms.

Josh is currently facing one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Nov. 30.

Jim Bob was subpoenaed by the prosecution to speak about his eldest child's molestation controversy in 2015, when In Touch Weekly published a police report from 2006 that alleged a then-teenage Josh had inappropriately touched five underage girls while they slept.

When asked about the police report during his testimony on Monday, Jim Bob said "I can't remember" and called it "tabloid information," according to People.

The Complete Duggar Family Tree

"I'm not going to allow it, are you going to allow for that?" he reportedly asked judge Timothy L. Brooks, who later told Jim Bob that "if there is [an] objection to be made, someone will make it but it won't be you."

Though Jim Bob—even after reading the police report in court—told prosecutors that he had no recollection of its details, he said that Josh did speak to him and his wife, Michelle, in 2002 about "inappropriate touching" of a minor, per People.

While Jim Bob did not remember his son's exact wording, he said that he and Michelle "were shocked this had happened but we were thankful he came on his own and told us," the outlet reported.

"Josh confessed everything to Arkansas State Police," said Jim Bob, who said he and Michelle took Josh to the authorities in 2006 on the recommendation of Jim Holt, Bobye's husband and an elder in their church.

"We tried to handle things in house," Jim Bob later added. "It was a very difficult time in our family's life."

Centered around the Duggar family, 19 Kids and Counting ran on TLC from 2008 to 2015, when the decade-old molestation allegations against Josh surfaced. The show was canceled amid the controversy, with Josh issuing a public apology for his "wrongdoing." Josh's younger sisters, Jessa and Jill, later stepped forward as two of his victims.

In April, Josh was arrested by federal agents for allegedly receiving and possessing child pornography in May 2019. He was released on bail days after his arrest.

Since then, Josh's defense team have moved to exclude Josh's past molestation case in his upcoming trial. According to local news station 40/29 News, the prosecution argued on Monday that Jim Bob and Bobye should be allowed to testify in front of a jury as witnesses.

The judge has not yet made a ruling whether Jim Bob or Bobye will be allowed to testify during the trial.

E! News reached out to the Duggar family, Josh's attorneys, prosecutors and the court for comment but did not hear back.

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