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Presidential Hopeful Sounds Off on ’19 Kids and Counting’ Child Molestation Scandal

May 28, 2015  •  Post A Comment

One of the hopefuls in the 2016 presidential race has added his voice to those commenting on the child molestation scandal surrounding Josh Duggar and the TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting.”

E! Online reports that GOP contender Rick Santorum, described as a longtime Duggar family friend, talked about the situation on TV this morning.

“In an interview with ‘Good Morning America’s’ George Stephanopoulos that aired Thursday morning,” the story reports, “the Christian conservative said he was ‘sickened’ by allegations that Josh Duggar molested underage girls back when he was a young teenager. (Josh, now 27, has acknowledged that 12 years ago he ‘acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret.’)”

The report quotes Santorum saying: “I was sickened by it. I was just sickened by it. I pray for those girls in particular.”

The report contrasts Santorum’s comments with those of another presidential hopeful, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. E! notes that unlike Huckabee, “Santorum did not defend the embattled ’19 Kids and Counting’ star.”

The report cites a Facebook post by Huckabee from last week, in which Huckabee reportedly wrote: “Josh’s actions when he was an underage teen are as he described them himself, ‘inexcusable,’ but that doesn’t mean ‘unforgivable.’ He and his family dealt with it and were honest and open about it with the victims and the authorities … No purpose whatsoever is served by those who are now trying to discredit Josh or his family by sensationalizing the story. Good people make mistakes and do regrettable and even disgusting things.”

19 kids & counting-title

2 Comments

  1. Had the Duggars been democrats, these people would be all up in arms, rather than willing to “forgive” the “youthful indescretion…”

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