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Franklin County Sheriff’s Office employee Justin Sigmon is facing criminal charges after allegedly s*xually abusing his minor daughter. The incident reportedly occurred on a Carnival Sunshine cruise ship. His family created a GoFundMe for him following his imprisonment, which left netizens enraged. The fundraiser has since been removed from the platform.
Trigger Warning: This article contains details of s*xual abuse. Readers' discretion is advised.
The police officer was traveling with his family on the cruise ship from May 25 to May 29. The journey began from Miami and was to halt in the Bahamas. It was revealed that surveillance cameras caught Justin Sigmon touching his daughter inappropriately, as the alleged victim attempted to push his hands away several times. A passenger on the ship also revealed that Sigmon had covered his private area with his hands after his daughter had moved away from him.
While being interviewed by investigators, the victim denied that Sigmon had touched her inappropriately. She went on to add that her father was touching her calf.
Justin Sigmon reportedly told investigators that although his actions came off as “inappropriate,” he did not intend them to be “s*xual.” He also told law enforcement that if another man had touched his daughter that way he would have “punched him in the face.”
As Justin Sigmon spends time in jail without bail, a GoFundMe fundraiser has come into the limelight. The same was created by his family to cover his prison needs. Many could not believe a fundraiser was created for an alleged s*xual abuser. Responding to the same, one netizen wrote online:
More about Justin Sigmon’s GoFundMe
The GoFundMe which has since been deleted was created by Brad Holley on behalf of Tracy Holley, as per screenshots. The fundraiser claimed that the Sigmon was “one of the most Christian, honest, and trustworthy people you can ever meet.” The fundraiser was created to cover the family’s legal expenses.
Tracy Holley, who appears to be Sigmon’s sister also took to her Facebook account recently to share details about the fundraiser. In a social media post, she wrote:
“I am asking for everyone to pray for him, his family and specifically that he can get a Bible while he is in jail. He needs the word of the Lord and he is standing on the faith that Jesus is in control and is going to take care of him.”
Holley went on to say that Sigmon is enduring “injustice” and followers must “lift the spirits” of Sigmon’s wife and daughters. Holley ended the social media post by saying:
“Most importantly pray for him and that justice will prevail! #JusticeforJustin if you know him you will know he didn’t do this and would help anyone anyway he can.”
Netizens were outraged over the fundraiser’s existence. Some were enraged over the fact that the family used religion to defend the alleged s*xual abuser. Reactions to the same read:
Justin Sigmon is set to appear in court on June 14 for his arraignment, counsel hearing, and preliminary examination. As per the Franklin County Office, he had resigned from his job on June 2.
