Josh Duggar Seeks to Join Sisters' Privacy Lawsuit

Former reality star make legal request to be included in siblings' case

By Samantha Schnurr Jun 06, 2017 5:50 PMTags
Josh DuggarAP Photo/Danny Johnston, File

Josh Duggar is seeking to join his sisters' newly filed lawsuit. 

Less than a month after Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy Duggar filed a lawsuit against Springdale, Ark. Washington County, Ark., police and county officials and InTouch publishers, their older brother has officially requested to be included. 

According to the court documents obtained by E! News, the lawsuit stems from the 2006 investigation into claims that Josh, at the time a minor, had inappropriate sexual contact with some of his sisters years earlier. 

As the suit details, InTouch allegedly submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act for copies of the offense report, incident report and other investigation documents and subsequently published articles about the investigation in 2015. The siblings have since issued this lawsuit, claiming that, as minors at the time, they were advised their statements would remain confidential and only available to law enforcement. The lawsuit also claims that releasing the records was in violation of Arkansas codes. 

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Since requesting to join the lawsuit, his lawyers claim in the new documents that Josh, 29, suffered "humiliation and extreme mental anguish of being publicly identified nation and world-wide as the perpetrator of sexual contact as a minor and having the details of the most private and painful aspects of his life released and published to friends, associates and tens of millions of people through the United States and world."

The documents also state he was "forced into seclusion for fear of his safety," and allegedly had to retain around-the-clock security as a result of threats.  

Upon trial, Duggar is seeking judgment against the defendants for compensatory damages, punitivate damages, attorneys' fees, costs and expenses. 

In a previous statement to E! News,the four sisters said, "This case is solely about protecting children who are victims of abuse. Revealing juvenile identities under these circumstances is unacceptable, and it's against the law. The media and custodians of public records who let these children down must be held accountable. This case has vast implications for all our children. We hope that by bringing this case to the public's attention, all children will be protected from reckless reporting."

Meanwhile, a Duggar family spokesperson did not have a new statement at this time.