What happened to the Duggars could happen to your family. Here’s how to prevent it. [WashingtonPost.com]

This opinion piece was written by Victor Vieth, the senior director & founder of the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center.

Josh Duggar’s admission to sexually abusing five children when he was a teenager has brought national attention to the issue of sexual offenses committed by juveniles. The fact that Duggar’s victims include members of his own family highlights one of the most difficult aspects of child sexual abuse.

The Duggar case is not unique. Approximately 35 percent of all cases of child sexual abuse involve a juvenile offender. Although some juvenile offenders are very young, 84 percent are adolescents or teenagers. Approximately 68 percent of these offenses occur in the home, and 25 percent of the victims are family members.

[A timeline of the molestation allegations against Josh Duggar]

How to respond to juvenile sex offenses within the home

When a parent learns that one of their children has sexually abused a brother or sister, three steps are critical.

First, report the offenses to the authorities. Without the intervention of law enforcement, child protection and other professionals, the true facts may go undetected and both the victim and offender may go without the services they need.

[For more of this story, written by Victor Vieth, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/...s-how-to-prevent-it/]