It wasn’t until Josh confessed to his parents a third time, admitting he had touched one of their daughters whom Kelly said was a “single-digit” age that they went to get help. They sent Josh to a Christian-based counseling program in Little Rock, Ark., where they said there was a “turning point” in Josh’s life. (However, they didn’t mention that they really they shipped him off to a friend who had a home remodeling business, not an actual professional counseling center.) When Josh returned from the program, they took him to Arkansas state trooper to confess what he had done.

However, the state trooper didn’t do anything about it. Josh mostly got a stern talk. (That state trooper, Joseph Hutchens, is now serving a long-term prison sentence for child pornography.) It was until years later that authorities were tipped off about Josh’s actions, but by that point the statute of limitations had passed and no charges were filed.

When Kelly asked the Duggars why they waited until Josh confessed for a third time to do anything about it, Jim Bob said he had heard that the success rate wasn’t great at juvenile youth facilities for sex offenders, and that reaching his heart first would be more important.

And why did it take them so long to tell police? “As parents you are not mandatory reporters,” said Jim Bob. “The law allows for parents to do what they think is best for the children. We sent him down to this place. It’s the best decision we made.”

via Video: Jim Bob Duggar Says Son Molesting Daughters ‘Was Not Rape Or Anything Like That’: LAist.