Duggar Leaves FRC: Molestation Scandal Proves Too Much for Hate Group

The anti-gay Family Research Council will be operating minus one high profile mouthpiece: Josh Duggar, who was acting as the hate group's executive director resigned Thursday amid recent revelations of past investigation involving him and underage sex abuse.

The Washington Post reports Duggar resigned from his post as executive director of the Southern Poverty Law Center designated anti-gay hate group Family Research Council (FRC) on Thursday.

The Associated Press reports Tony Perkins, president of the Washington-based Christian lobbying group, said in a statement Thursday that Duggar resigned because of information becoming public that he believed would "make it difficult for him to be effective." As executive director of FRC Action, he served as a public face of the organization.

"Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends," Duggar, 27, told People Magazine in a statement. "I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation.

"We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling," he continued. "I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life."

A 2006 33-page police report from Springdale, Ark., acquired by In Touch Weekly through a Freedom of Information Act request showed Duggar was investigated for multiple sex offenses (some which were felonies) that included forcible fondling against five minors.

The police report that cites offenses that pre-date the investigation by four years, notes father Jim Bob told police that in 2002, his son (who was 14 years old at the time), admitted to fondling a minor's breasts while she slept. Another incident in the report notes in March of 2003, Duggar was accused by a female minor of touching her breasts and genitals. In many of the incidences, the victims were sleeping.

Rather than notify the police, Jim Bob "met with the elders of his church and told them what was going on." His son was sent to a "program [that] consisted of hard physical work and counseling" from March 2003 until July 2003.

According to the report, when Duggar returned in 2003, Jim Bob, along with other elders from the church, took the then teen to Arkansas state trooper Jim Hutchens who gave the young Duggar a "very stern talk" but neglected to take further action.

Hutchens is currently serving a 56-year prison sentence for child pornography.

By the time the Crimes Against Children Division and local police got involved, the three-year statute on limitations had passed.

Josh Duggar is the eldest of the Duggar children from the hit TLC reality program "19 Kids and Counting." In 2013, with only a home-schooled high school diploma and a CV that included work as a used car salesman, FRC cashed in on the then 25-year-old's reality TV celebrity status by hiring him to act as their executive director.

Since assuming his role as executive director of FRC, Duggar has actively campaigned for candidates with aggressive anti-gay agendas.