The Duggar Family

Josh Duggar, one of the members of the family that stars in TLC's "19 Kids and Counting" ... was the subject of a police investigation for allegedly sexually molesting 5 girls, some of whom are his sisters.

The story was broken by In Touch Weekly, but TMZ has confirmed with law enforcement that Josh Duggar -- who was around 14 at the time -- was the alleged molester against 5 girls starting in 2002.

According to the police report, Josh fondled the genitals and breasts of the girls, some of whom were sleeping, but sometimes they were interacting with him ... in one case reading a book.

There was another reported incident 9 months later. According to the police report, the police were not immediately contacted. Instead, Jim Bob, the dad, met with church elders and agreed Josh should be put in a treatment program. The police report says Josh's mom, Michelle, said it wasn't really a treatment center ... they simply sent Josh to a guy who was remodeling a building to do manual labor.

In 2006, the family was scheduled to appear on "Oprah," and before the show someone sent an email to Harpo warning that Josh had molested girls. Harpo forwarded the email to a hotline, which triggered a police investigation.

Cops wanted to question Josh, but Jim Bob lawyered him up and Josh declined the invitation.

Josh, who is now 27, apparently cannot be charged because the statute of limitations has run.

As for the Duggars, one of the family members told investigators, "this entire incident had brought the family closer to God" ... this according to the police report.

Michelle Duggar is convinced ... child predators are aiming to use the cover of being a transgender to hurt children ... and she's determined to stop them in their tracks.

The "19 Kids and Counting" star is on the warpath against a proposed Arkansas law that would allow transgender people to use either the men's or women's bathroom -- whichever they feel suits them best.

Duggar thinks convicted male child molesters will have a field day if the law passes ... simply dressing up like a woman and perving out in girls restrooms.

It costs a FORTUNE to feed 23 mouths ... just ask TLC reality star Jim Bob Duggar who took his enormous family out for burgers in NYC yesterday -- and we know exactly how much they spent.

Jim Bob -- along with his wife Michelle and 21 other family members -- hit up Bill's Bar & Burger in Manhattan ... splurging on burgers, shakes, fries, onion rings, you name it.

FYI -- Burgers start at $7.95 and could double in price if you want cheese and/or another burger patty. Shakes run in the $6 range ... $4 for fries ... $8 for nachos ... $2 per soda.

Buuuuut ... the "19 Kids & Counting" fam did get a nice discount ... 6 of the children qualified for the kids menu -- $7.95 per meal.

So, what was the final bill??? We'll give you THREE options -- click on the image for the answer!

The family from TLC's "19 Kids & Counting" chose a unique way to commemorate the life of their 20th child, who passed away this week in a miscarriage -- they took an artsy picture of the fetal corpse ... and distributed it at the memorial.

Jubilee Shalom Duggar was due in April ... but Michelle Duggar suffered a miscarriage on Sunday in her 2nd trimester.

The Duggars held a memorial today at their church in Arkansas, where they distributed the above photographs -- containing messages like, "There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world."

The photos were first posted on Twitter by a family member -- and then surfaced on a fan site.

Just when you thought your family Thanksgiving was hectic -- TMZ has learned, the family from "19 Kids and Counting" is spending the holiday with another massive cohort ... totaling over 50 hungry mouths to feed.

Sources close to the Duggar family tell TMZ, they've invited the Vanderhoffs over for Thanksgiving festivities -- a nearby family of 23 that's also guest starring on an upcoming episode of "19 Kids."

Altogether, over 50 people are expected to chow down at Chez Duggar -- and the menu is suitably massive ... including two regular turkeys, two smoked turkeys, four turkey breasts, plus all the trimmings.

Meanwhile, dessert includes a total of 16 pies -- 10 pumpkin and 6 assorted ... pecan, apple, chocolate fudge ... we can go on.

She had reportedly fallen gravely ill during a trip to Israel with her family last week -- but baby Josie from TLC's "19 Kids and Counting" made a speedy recovery ... and TMZ has obtained video proof.

Reports are circulating ... Josie was rushed to a medical facility after her "oxygen levels had spiraled down" -- but sources close to the family tell TMZ, the reports were blown way out of proportion.

We're told 21-month-old Josie was merely experiencing some cold symptoms -- and was taken to a doctor's office to get them checked out.

The adorable religious zealots on "19 Kids and Counting" were right on the money yesterday in D.C. -- when the family stormed the Lincoln Memorial to fight spiritual bankruptcy ... with GIANT $100 bills.

Patriarch Jim Bob Duggar tells TMZ, he and his family felt like the country could use a pep talk during these hard financial times ... so they handed out over-sized fake Benjamins, inscribed with uplifting spiritual messages.

Jim Bob -- who was vacationing in the capital with his family -- adds, "Our hope in passing them out today was to encourage people to reflect on the things that are most important and to re-evaluate their relationship with God."

The Duggar family -- all 21 members -- were en route from their home in Tontitown, AR to NYC to appear on the "Today" show ... when daddy Jim Bob noticed oil leaking from their massive tour bus.

Jim Bob wanted to fix the problem ASAP -- so he drove towards the closest bus repair shop ... which happened to be in the small town of Loudonville, Ohio ... population 2,982.

We're told Jim Bob wanted to make sure the family was comfortable during the stop -- so he rented out a couple of rooms at a nearby hotel so they could beat the heat ... and then treated the kids to a gigantic pizza lunch.

Josh Duggar -- the eldest Duggar child -- tells TMZ the fam spent Sunday night and all day Monday delivering supplies and clearing massive piles of debris to search for survivors in Joplin, MO.

Josh says he and 5 siblings -- John, Jana, Jill, Jessa, Joseph and Dad, Jim Bob -- decided to load up a 3 car caravan late Sunday night when they heard about the disaster in Joplin ... just one hour from their home in Arkansas.

Four of the Duggars are volunteer firefighters ... and Josh says rescue officials immediately put the family's considerable manpower to work -- assigning them to search around the devastated town for any activity -- and hand out supplies at command posts.

TMZ has obtained a clip from "19 Kids & Counting" -- in which Michelle Duggar explains how baby Josie had a condition with her tiny little belly that they believed required medical attention ... so they took the child back to the hospital in Little Rock, AR.