Josh Duggar Loses Child Molestation Related Lawsuit Against Magazine

Josh Duggar  has lost his lawsuit against In Touch Weekly that dealt with his child molestation, according to Page Six.

As RadarOnline.com readers know, the magazine revealed in 2015 that 19 Kids and Counting star Josh, now 29, was accused of molesting his younger sisters between 2002 and 2003. At the time, Duggar and the girls were all minors.

Josh’s alleged sex crimes included "fondling" his four sisters' (and a family friend's) breasts and private areas, according to a shocking police report. 

This summer, Josh -- and Jill Dillard, Jessa Seewald, Jinger Vuolo, and Joy-Anna Duggar -- had separately sued In Touch's parent company, Bauer Publishing, in Arkansas, claiming that local police had provided InTouch with their names, even though their identities should have been redacted by the cops before being given to the publication.

The suing Duggars claimed that they were victimized by the magazine reports – which ultimately led to the cancellation of their show 19 Kids And Counting.

The four Duggar sisters filed suit in Arkansas in June, and Josh later joined the suit, making similar claims against the magazine and the police.

However, on Thursday, an Arkansas district judge dismissed the case against In Touch, saying the First Amendment protected the magazine because the information it published was true.

Judge Tim Brooks added that, even if the police officers broke the law when they provided the Duggars’ unredacted names, In Touch "cannot be held liable for the city’s and county’s failure to follow the law."

"This Court believes it cannot permit the Bauer Defendants to be held liable for their conduct her without defying binding Supreme Court precedent," Brooks ruled.

After Josh's scandal broke and shocked America, TLC cancelled the Duggars' show 19 Kids and Counting, but they later brought them back in a new show focusing on the girls called Counting On, currently airing on the network.

Josh, who is married to wife Anna, mother of his five kids, has said he "acted inexcusably" when he was "a young teenager," and deeply regretted his actions.