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TLC finally cancels Duggar series ‘Counting On’
after Josh Duggar’s child-porn arrest
Josh Duggar speaks at the Arkansas state Capitol in August 2014. (Danny Johnston / Associated Press)
By CHRISTIE D’ZURILLASTAFF WRITER
JUNE 30, 2021 10:33 AM PT
TLC is parting ways with the Duggar family reality series “Counting On” following Josh Duggar’s April arrest on federal charges of downloading and possessing child pornography.
“TLC will not be producing additional seasons of Counting On,” the network said in a statement Tuesday. “TLC feels it is important to give the Duggar family the opportunity to address their situation privately.”
On Tuesday evening, Jinger Duggar Vuolo and her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, issued a statement via Instagram thanking TLC for its kindness and for the opportunity to be on the show.
“We wholeheartedly agree with TLC’s decision not to renew ‘Counting On’ and are excited for the next chapter in our lives,” they said. “We’d like to thank our fans, friends and the amazing film crew who have shown us love and support. We look forward to continuing our creative journey in Los Angeles and seeing what the future holds.”
Josh Duggar, former ‘19 Kids and Counting’ star, faces child pornography charges
April 30, 2021
Josh Duggar, 33 — the eldest child in the large family of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar — pleaded not guilty in April on the child-porn charges, which authorities said were linked to materials depicting the sexual abuse of children between the ages of 18 months and 12 years old.
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Gerald Faulkner said at a May 5 hearing covered by E! that the former TLC reality star’s computer had downloaded multiple files depicting child sex abuse on three separate days in May 2019. Faulkner said the images were “in the top five of the worst of the worst that I’ve ever had to examine.”
“Counting On” revolved around the older siblings in the family made famous by the show “17 Kids and Counting,” which wound up “19 Kids and Counting” as Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar added more children to their brood. The original show, which was TLC’s most popular at the time, ran from 2008 to 2015.
Devout Baptists, Jim Bob and Michelle did not use birth control. They homeschooled all their kids, and the older children practiced “chaperoned courtship” to meet their future spouses.
During the final year that “19 Kids” aired, Josh admitted and apologized for his actions in 2002 and 2003, when he had “improperly touched” a babysitter and four of his younger sisters. After Hulu severed ties with “19 Kids and Counting” and several companies said they planned to remove their ads from the show, “19 Kids” was canceled in July 2015.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar say they feel like ‘Failures’ as parents over Josh Duggar
June 4, 2015
“This was not rape or anything like that,” Jim Bob Duggar said in a June 2015 interview on Fox News. “There were a couple of instances where he touched them under their clothes, but it was like a few seconds. And then he came to us and was crying and told us what happened.”
The family said everyone involved had received professional counseling, including Josh, who Jim Bob said was a “changed person” afterward. During the scandal, Josh had resigned his position as head of the Family Research Council’s lobbying arm.
Josh Duggar calls himself ‘the biggest hypocrite,’ admits cheating on wife
Aug. 20, 2015
In August 2015, TLC ran a one-hour documentary, “Breaking the Silence,” with the intent of raising awareness of the sexual abuse of minors. The special featured two of Josh Duggar’s sisters, Jill Dillard and Jessa Seewald, who were identified as two of Josh’s victims, in addition to other survivors and families.
That same month, Josh admitted cheating on wife Anna Duggar after it was revealed that he had paid accounts on Ashley Madison, an affair-facilitating website, from 2013 to 2015. He also admitted he was addicted to internet porn.
“I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him,” Josh said in a statement at the time.
A week later, he checked into “a long-term treatment center,” his parents said, noting that for Josh it would be “a long journey toward wholeness and recovery. We pray that in this he comes to complete repentance and sincere change.”
Jim Bob Duggar speaks with Fox News' Megyn Kelly at their Arkansas home in early June. On Wednesday, he and wife Michelle Duggar announced that their eldest son, Josh, had gone into "long-term treatment" after admitting to infidelity.
Josh Duggar has checked into a ‘long-term treatment facility’ for — well, you know
Aug. 26, 2015
“Counting On” was spun off in December 2015, initially focusing on the older Duggar kids, minus Josh. His wife and their six children — two of whom were born after the cheating scandal — ultimately participated during the show’s 11 seasons, along with the rest of the extended family.
If convicted, Josh Duggar faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines up to $250,000 on each of two counts, for receipt and possession of child pornography.
Josh Duggar’s trial is scheduled to start in July.
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Millionaire businessman, 71, who bought £37,000-a-year boarding school
so he could abuse pupils over two decades from the 90s is jailed for three years
By KATIE FEEHAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 07:17 EDT, 4 July 2021
Jailed: Brian Martin, 71, has been convicted of historic sexual offences at Leeds Crown Court
A millionaire businessman who bought a boarding school so he could abuse pupils on his country estate with links to the Bronte family has been jailed for three years and three months.
Entertainment magnate Brian Martin, now 71, sexually abused a boy and girl boarder while using his position as Chairman of the Governors to groom them.
He had appointed himself 'Provost' of £37,000 a year Queen Ethelburgers School, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
He then stunned parents by mothballing the building and moving the pupils into a new school on his own country estate at Thorpe Underwood Hall, Ouseburn, near York.
Det Sgt Graeme Bevington, who led the North Yorkshire Police investigation, was horrified by what happened next. He said: 'Brian Martin was a well-respected member of society and a successful businessman.
'It was due to his success as a businessman that he was able to purchase Queen Ethelburga's School which he moved from Harrogate to the Thorpe Underwood Estate where he lived with his family.
'The students who attended the school considered it to be safe and family-oriented, and Brian Martin was a key figure at the school.
'Despite significant investment being made in the school, all this served to do was to create an environment that Martin could exploit for his own sinister gains.
Brian Martin, 71, appointed himself 'Provost' of £37,000 a year Queen Ethelburgers School (pictured), near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and moved it to his country estate in Ouseburn
'He preyed on the vulnerability of the students and was able to manipulate circumstances which allowed him to sexually abuse two children who were boarding students and therefore isolated from their families.
'The school was supposed to be a safe place for the victims, and they should have been able to trust all adults and staff at the school. They could not have possibly conceived that it would be at this supposed safe place where they would be harmed so significantly by someone in a position of trust.'
The millionaire made a fortune in insurance and ran a string of companies including entertainment and equestrian businesses.
Thorpe Underwood Hall, dating from 1912, stands close to the site of the old Thorpe Green Hall, which had been destroyed by fire at the end of the 19th century, and which is remembered now for its connection to the Bronte family.
Anne Bronte lived at Thorpe Green as governess to the Robinson family. She was joined by her brother Branwell, but his time there was to precipitate the crisis that led to his death.
One of Martin's business addresses was the Monk's House which was the home of Branwell while he was tutor to the Robinsons' son.
The conviction of sexually assaulting a boy in the late 2000s followed a retrial of a case that was put before a jury in 2018, when Martin was acquitted. Martin was also found guilty of indecent assault on a girl in the early-to-mid 1990s at another retrial held in 2019.
He was acquitted of six other child sexual abuse offences at the original trial in 2018, when he was accused of abusing boys and girls aged 13 to 17 between 2005 and 2010.
The millionaire, who moved to the village of Ferensby, near Harrogate, has been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register.
DS Bevington added: 'The bravery shown by the victims in this case to speak out against their abuser cannot be praised highly enough. 'They have had to give evidence in open court about the most vulnerable and traumatic experiences of their lives and re-live the dreadful abuse that was forced upon them many years ago when they were just children.
'The courage and conviction behind their evidence has led to Brian Martin being publicly exposed as the predatory paedophile that he really is.
'They have finally had justice for what they have had to endure for so long.'
I'm not sure 3 years is what you would call justice. He will probably be out next year!
Record-holding ex-MMA fighter found dead in jail cell while
awaiting child pornography trial in apparent suicide
12 Jul, 2021 16:44
Former MMA veteran Travis Fulton reportedly took his own life. © Twitter / LCCC Linn County, Iowa
Ex-MMA star Travis Fulton, the man with the most fights to his name in the sport's history, was found dead in his jail cell at the weekend while facing charges related to child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.
According to a press release by the Linn County Sheriff's Office, the 44-year-old committed an apparent suicide in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
He was discovered after a cell sweep by prison staff, with attempts to resuscitate him, which included CPR, unsuccessful.
After being taken to a hospital in the locale, Fulton was pronounced dead at around 5 am local time, with the sheriff’s office saying the death is still under investigation and that the state's medical examiner is set to conduct an autopsy.
Facing charges of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child filed last Friday, the day before he was found dead, Fulton had reportedly agreed to plead guilty to at least two of the four charges that had been leveled against him.
According to The Gazette, they were one for exploitation and another for possession of child pornography.
As a result, a federal judge canceled his trial date and confirmed a July 23 plea hearing date.
As reported by The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Fulton allegedly attempted to recruit a minor into engaging in taking sexually explicit photographs late last year. Furthermore, he was also accused of possessing a flash drive which contained pornography featuring a minor under the age of 12.
At the time of his death, Fulton was additionally awaiting trial in relation to domestic assault charges stemming from a September 2019 incident where he was accused of threatening and hitting a woman, who suffered multiple injuries and needed medical treatment.
On January 28 this year though, Fulton and the woman in question were detained once spotted together at the Isle Casino Hotel, as the meeting violated a restraining order.
In the MMA world, Fulton was best known for competing in 323 professional fights and accumulating an unparalleled 257-55-10 record.
His last fight came in April 2019, when he defeated Shannon Ritch on the Road to M-1 USA 2 card.
Fighting just twice in the sport's most elite championship – the UFC – in 1999, Fulton also featured in the first ever WEC event.
