FAYETTEVILLE -- Josh Duggar has decided to withdraw his motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit filed by four of his sisters over the police release of information related to allegations that he sexually abused them while they were children.
One of Duggar's attorneys, Gregory Payne, filed the motion Friday. U.S. District Judge Tim Brooks granted the motion.
The one-sentence motion doesn't say why Duggar decided to drop his legal claims.
"Comes now, the intervening party, Josh Duggar, and upon further consideration hereby withdraws his motion to intervene," the motion says.
Attempts to reach Payne on Friday afternoon were unsuccessful.
The four sisters sued Northwest Arkansas officials in May, claiming that the officials improperly released police documents to a magazine that then published the information.
The sisters' lawsuit was filed in federal court in Fayetteville. Claims include invasion of privacy, outrage and violation of the right to due process.
The sisters are Jill Dillard, Jessa Seewald, Jinger Vuolo and Joy Duggar.
In his filing last week, Josh Duggar argued that he should be made a party to his sisters' case because their suit could not adequately represent his personal interest.
Police investigated allegations of sexual abuse against Josh Duggar in 2006, related to incidents in 2002 and 2003, but no charges were filed. However, a Family in Need of Services petition was filed in Washington County Juvenile Court. The sisters were minors at the time of the allegations.
Both lawsuits contend that police assured the family that information from the investigation and their interviews would be available only to law enforcement, juvenile court and child services personnel.
Defendants in the sisters' suit include the city of Springdale, Washington County, former Springdale Police Chief Kathy O'Kelley, Springdale City Attorney Ernest Cate, Maj. Rick Hoyt with the Washington County sheriff's office, former Washington County Attorney Steve Zega and Bauer Media Group, which published In Touch Weekly magazine and related social media sites. The lawsuit also lists 10 unidentified "Doe" defendants, believed to be employees of the listed defendants.
Springdale officials released a response to the sisters' lawsuit on behalf of O'Kelley and Cate, calling the lawsuit unfortunate, misguided, without merit and false. The statement says Springdale prevailed in a previous legal action regarding release of the information.
The sisters allege that the officials released documents to the magazine after it filed a Freedom of Information Act request.
The suits say O'Kelley and Cate supervised the Police Department's redaction and release of a report in violation of the Arkansas juvenile code, the Arkansas Code, and the Arkansas and U.S. constitutions.
The Duggars were stars of the now-canceled TLC cable channel show 19 Kids and Counting.
Josh Duggar, then age 14, revealed in March 2002, July 2002 and March 2003 to his parents that he had inappropriately touched young girls in the family home, his parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, said in an interview aired June 3, 2015, by Fox News.
The Duggars took him to report what he had done to an Arkansas State Police employee, according to the Springdale Police report. The corporal didn't report the matter to the state's child abuse hotline as required by law.
Springdale police said they didn't learn about the accusations until someone anonymously called the abuse hotline in 2006. By then, the statute of limitations had run out on any applicable criminal charges. Springdale police said they were told when the magazine filed its information request that the protections afforded to youth offenders no longer applied.
Josh Duggar resigned as a lobbyist for a group run by the conservative Family Research Council and acknowledged wrongdoing in a public statement on May 21, 2015.
Metro on 06/17/2017