The locals living in the same Northwest Arkansas community as Josh Duggar and his family are reportedly “ecstatic” about the 33-year-old’s conviction this week on child pornography charges.
In fact, according to a damning new report, several of them are openly hoping that the former 19 Kids And Counting star will be sentenced to the maximum possible 40 total years (each of the two charges of receipt and possession of child pornography carry a possible 20 years).
Related: Josh’s Parents Make Surprising First Statement About His Child Porn Conviction
One NW Arkansas resident, who spoke to Fox News on the condition of anonymity, revealed that they were “actually shocked” that Duggar actually has to face consequences for his long-standing horrific actions.
The local source said:
“I’m really shocked that the truth was actually recognized. I’m not shocked at the verdict, but shocked that somebody finally listened. Vindication isn’t even close to the word. It’s just more empathy for his sisters and the victims. He’s belonged in prison for a long time. You can only admit guilt so many times. He admitted it, that’s the thing. Everybody was screaming at the top of his lungs he was guilty. It took all this for someone to listen.”
Of course, that local is talking about Josh’s prior admission that he molested four of his sisters and a babysitter when he was younger — something that only saw the light of day when it was discovered by In Touch Weekly in 2015. It turns out investigators had actually looked into that abuse back in 2006 upon receiving a tip from a family friend, only to conclude that the statute of limitations on possible charges had expired. Josh’s parents were reportedly told about the acts in 2003, back when charges could have been filed. They chose to keep it quiet and defend him when police asked about it later. Then the report was ordered to be destroyed, allegedly by a judge with ties to former Governor Mike Huckabee, a Duggar family friend
Slamming Josh and his family, including patriarch Jim Bob Duggar, over that and several other high-profile Duggar sex scandals, the insider continued:
“Some people say they’ve been with this story from start to finish? Those of us who live and work in Northwest Arkansas have been there before that. We’ve been there since the rumors, years before any of this went public. And no one listened to the truth back then. Maybe they will now.”
Damn.
Related: Twitter Will Not Let Josh Duggar’s Politician Friends Forget That They Defended Him
A second anonymous Springdale-area resident echoed those sentiments, adding:
“I hope [Josh] gets the whole 40 years, of course. A lot of people in this community seem ecstatic by the verdict. … [But] I’m still scared he will end up only serving a few years.”
A third insider, who called Duggar’s conviction “a divine intervention,” doubled down on the hope for a long prison sentence for the convicted celeb:
“From the very beginning I genuinely believe that is what this is. I of course hope he gets the full 40 years and am thankful that the jury had the evidence needed to see through his clothing.”
It certainly wasn’t easy — but thankfully it appears as though justice has (so far) been served.
Not all of the reactions are coming from anonymous NW Arkansas residents, though.
Kesha Zaffino, a resident of the area who practices law in the nearby city of Bentonville, once represented a man who sued Josh over a real estate dispute, and she worked across the table from Josh for quite a while on that litigation. Reflecting on her impressions of the disgraced former reality star, Zaffino told Fox News:
“I’m not surprised. Eventually the bad things you do will catch up to you. If there are heavy sentences out there in the world, these are the crimes that it’s appropriate for.”
Amen to that!
In fact, using her own high-level legal background as context, Zaffino believes that the relatively short jury deliberation in Josh’s child pornography case suggests a pretty clear-cut idea about Anna Duggar‘s husband:
“The jury was on the same page and there wasn’t much to debate. There’s just so much stuff that’s come out about him over the years. The common thread is there’s always something sexual and with women. That doesn’t help.”
No kidding.
Not gonna lie, it’s kind of encouraging to see that the Duggars’ home area has so strongly turned against the most damaging and disgusting aspects of this family.
Let’s just hope, as Josh has now been convicted definitively by a jury of his peers, that he receives the strongest appropriate sentence for committing these awful, awful acts.
[Image via TLC/YouTube/Washington County Sheriff’s Office]
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