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Jill Duggar Details “Safeguards” After Brother Josh Duggar’s Molestation Confession: “Locks on the Doors,” Trust Came Later

Jessa and Jill Duggar
Jill Duggar detailed the "safeguards" her family put in place after her brother Josh molested her and three of her sisters -- plus, find out how they rebuilt trust.

Jill Duggar detailed to Fox News' Megyn Kelly how she and her entire family coped after her brother Josh molested her and three of her sisters in 2002. In a new interview airing Friday, June 5, Jill revealed that certain "safeguards" were implemented by her parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, following Josh's actions.

"Not being alone," Jill said on The Kelly File in preview excerpts released to Us Weekly. "My parents said, 'Okay, we’re not going to do this hide-and-seek thing where two people go off and hide together.'"

Related: PHOTOS: The Duggar family album

Duggar family patriarch Jim Bob told Kelly on Wednesday, June 3, that his eldest son confessed at 14 that he had "improperly touched" some of his sisters while they were sleeping. "He came to us and was crying and told us what happened," Jim Bob recalled, adding that "safeguards" were then put into place to prevent future instances.

Jill shared what exactly these preventative measures included. "Locks on the doors," she said, point-blank. "You know, everybody’s in bed. Girls in the girls' room. Boys in the boys' room — as a mother now I look back, and I think, you know, my parents did such an amazing job for me. Even when we went through the DHS investigation they complimented my parents on what an amazing job they did through that process."

Related: PHOTOS: Jill and Derick's wedding album

Jill added, "I hope I can set up the same safeguards in my family that they did."

While those physical barriers were set in place, a psychological and emotional struggle followed in the wake of Josh's molestation of the girls. "I was angry at first, I was like, ’How could this happen?’" Jill recalled to Kelly. "And then, you know, my parents explained to us what happened and then Josh came and asked each of us, individually, I know, he asked me to forgive him. And I had to make that choice to forgive him, you know? And it wasn’t something that somebody forced, like, 'Oh, you need to do this.' It’s like, you have to make that decision for yourself."

Related: PHOTOS: Stars who've survived abuse

Following his third molestation confession, Josh was sent away to a "training center" in Little Rock, Ark., when he was 15 years old. "We were sad whenever he was sent away, you know, because it’s your brother," Jill reasoned of that time period. "You're all still kids, you know, but at the same time it was burned in our memory — Josh made some very bad decisions and he is going to suffer the consequences of those decisions."

Related: PHOTOS: Stars' shocking secrets

One of those consequences was earning the forgiveness of his sisters and rebuilding trust with each and every one of his family members. "My dad explained to us, he said, 'You know there’s a difference between forgiveness and trust. That’s not the same thing.' You know, you forgive someone and then you have boundaries. Forgiveness with boundaries. Trust comes later," Jill noted. "Josh destroyed that trust at the beginning, and so he had to rebuild that. I think when he came back, that was…the point of rebuilding."

Tune in to the one-hour special with the Duggar sisters airing Friday, June 5, on Fox News' The Kelly File at 9 p.m. ET.

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