A day after Josh Duggar confirmed reports he inappropriately touched several young girls as a teen in 2002, TLC is pulling 19 Kids and Counting from its line-up, according to TMZ.
The entertainment and gossip news site reports the fate of the show remains uncertain and no long-term decision has been made, but sources reportedly said that the network was forced to act after a backlash from its decision to run a 19 Kids and Counting marathon on Thursday.
The source also told TMZ General Mills has removed the show from it advertising schedule.
A 2006 police report obtained by In Touch Weekly was released Thursday, and revealed the eldest Duggar sibling was accused of sexually assaulting five young girls in 2002, four of them being his younger siblings.
“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,” Josh told PEOPLE magazine in a statement late Thursday. “I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation.”
Jim Bob and Michelle also said through a joint statement: “Back 12 years ago our family went through one of the most difficult times of our lives… When Josh was a young teenager, he made some very bad mistakes, and we were shocked. We had tried to teach him right from wrong. That dark and difficult time caused us to seek God like never before.”
Additionally, Josh announced Thursday he had resigned from his position at the Family Research Council.
According to In Touch, Josh allegedly sexually assaulted his sisters, plus an additional victim back to 2002, when he was around 14-years-old. He was accused of “forcible fondling,” but was not immediately reported to police by his parents, who instead opted to send him to a Christian training program to perform manual labor.
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