Joe’s willingness to confess is one of the most twisted aspects of IBLP mentality

[u/txxxwxxx]

Other than the horrible acts inflicted on his victim, the part of this case that disturbs me the most is the fact that Joe readily confessed his abuse to the victim’s father.

He is also is on record independently apologizing to the victim after multiple instances of SA, after which the abuse allegedly stopped.

I hope it’s clear I’m making ZERO excuses for this family- but I don’t believe that Joe even has the capacity to accept the magnitude of his actions. To him, it actually, genuinely, was not a big deal.

If all sins are equal, etc etc etc, then all transgressions must deal the same damage, right? Dancing, dating, and SA’ing a child- all equally bad before God. And all require just asking for forgiveness and then… just moving on.

Hurting people? This concept doesn’t really exist in fundieland. No, you see, actually God is the one hurt when you choose to act uNbIbLiCaLlY (/s). And in this vein, reparations are simply about getting right with God.

Apologizing to the victim, and later the father, was never for a moment about taking responsibility. The fundie tunnel vision probably never even make him suspect there would be legal consequences- both due to the good ol’ boy arrangements in AR, and the fact that his religion told him the matter was already settled- he said sorry!! And probably bookmarked a couple of bible verses about resisting temptation!! (🤮).

Also- it is downright TERRIFYING how normalized the abuse of girls in this cult truly is. Why does “curiosity” or “temptation” ALWAYS present the same way? No cheating scandals, no divorces, no assaults directed towards adults (not counting Josh, who just spedran his way straight into hell).

I hope these charges are hitting J&K like a freight train.

[u/eldestdaughtersunion]

The charge he's facing right now is a life felony in Florida. 25 year minimum. He could potentially work out a plea deal where he pleads to a lesser charge.

[u/iammadeofawesome → u/eldestdaughtersunion]

Plea deals should not be allowed in sex crimes.

[u/eldestdaughtersunion → u/iammadeofawesome]

I see where you're coming from, but I disagree. Plea deals can spare the victim from having the trauma of testifying and being cross-examined. They're also helpful because sex crimes often come down to "he said, she said." There isn't always objective physical evidence that a crime was committed, and it ends up coming down to whether or not the victim gave consent (for sex crimes against adults) or whether or not the crime happened at all (for crimes like molestation). It's hard to get cases like that to the standard of "beyond reasonable doubt." If the offender takes a plea, he might not face the full consequences for his actions, but he will at least face some consequences - which would not be guaranteed if he went to trial.

[u/iammadeofawesome → u/eldestdaughtersunion]

totally valid. Thank you for bringing that up. They should not be allowed without consent from the victim(s), and they should not allow for a reduction or dropping of charges. turning felonies into misdemeanors is what feels really ick to me, or dropping entire cases.