LITTLE People, Big World fans have accused Matt Roloff of ‘downplaying’ his son Jacob’s claims a producer molested him as a minor.
YouTuber Katie Joy’s Without a Crystal Ball first highlighted the father-of-four’s comments on the podcast First Class Fatherhood, in which he said the family only found out about the abuse two days before Jacob’s post.
Addressing Jacob’s claims, the 59-year-old said: “We as a family found out just two or three days before that Jacob sent out a text to the family and it was hard. A heartbreaking revelation.
“It caught us all by surprise, we had no idea and he explained that this had happened back in 2015, it was a single incident, it didn’t happen on the farm, it happened off the farm.
“It’s one of those things you think you’ve braced your family and prepared your kids for things like that and you talk to them about it regularly – and we had some other scares in the early days when everybody was young and we were particularly worried about Molly becoming involved in something.”
He continued: “When we started the show we had a number of fans who were overzealous to get to various members of the family they were fixated on so we never realised it would come from somebody so close.
“The Jacob thing was heartbreaking, a lot of tears, but we were also very, very, very, very proud of Jacob in the way he came out and getting it off his mind and chest so he could develop and continue his growth.
“His post said it all… we were taken aback and devastated by it to think something so crazy and evil could happen so close inside the family.”
In light of his comments, fans of the show have slammed Matt for “glossing over” and “seeming to minimize” Jacob’s experience.
One fan commented under a clip of Matt on the podcast: “The more I watch it, the worse is gets… he says it only happened one time” (sic).
“‘The Jacob thing’…. are you kidding me, Matt Roloff?… oh, and it only happened once.. and it wasn’t on the farm… IT HAPPENED… and they are still working with that awful network!!!” another wrote.
A third penned: “Wait what??? I reread Jacob’s original post – he clearly states he was molested as a child and the man texted him again in 2015.
“Matt’s rationalized, minimized version is not factual. I hope Jacob finds the peace and support he needs/deserves”.
In December, Jacob, 24, claimed on Instagram he was “molested” and “groomed” by executive field producer Christopher Cardamone.
Chris, 44, served as a senior producer on the TLC program for 134 episodes between 2007-2010.
Jacob was between the ages of 10 to 13 years old when Chris worked on the show.
The Celeb Report exclusively revealed in February that during his time on the Oregon-based show, Chris was arrested on October 20, 2008, in Santa Clara, California, for child sex crimes.
After Matt’s comments, it would mean that the victim in the case isn’t Jacob.
A Public Information Officer for the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office told The Celeb Report: “In September 2008, a child molestation investigation was conducted by Sheriff’s deputies and detectives.
“The suspect, Christopher Cardamone, was ultimately arrested and booked into the Main Jail in San Jose for felony lewd and lascivious acts with a minor.”
According to court papers obtained by The Celeb Report, Chris was charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 with force, two counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14, and one count of cruelty to child with possible injury or death.
He was held on $200,000 bond, which was posted on November 12, 2008.
On May 26, 2009, he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Then on December 7, 2010, Chris accepted a plea deal and was convicted of cruelty to child with possible injury or death, while the other charges were dismissed, the court papers claim.
He was sentenced to 73 days in jail and four years of supervised probation.
Chris was to complete substance abuse counseling, maintain full time employment, submit to a property/person search and submit to chemical testing, according to court docs.
Jacob wrote on Instagram in December regarding the “traumatic memory”: “It is often much easier to think about things than it is to talk about them.
“And so this disclosure has been delayed, but through that delay I have found the fortitude and words.
“As a child, after what I realize now was a long grooming process, I was molested by an executive field producer for Little People, Big World, Chris Cardamone,” Jacob alleged.
The activist went on to say he hopes Chris will “never be allowed around children again”.
He continued: “By revealing this, I may be more fully understood and my perspective on issues such as child sexual abuse, child exploitation, and the collateral costs of reality television may be received more clearly.”
Jacob then explained: “There is no inherent causal connection between reality television production and childhood trauma.
“We are still sprinting ahead with the enterprise deaf, dumb, and blind, asking for forgiveness later, instead of asking harder preliminary questions of ourselves.
“The profits were indeed sweet. The actual experience was more complicated.”
The youngest member of the Roloff family – who is married to wife Isabel Rock – then made it clear that his parents, Matt and Amy, are not to blame for the alleged incident.
He said: “It must be finally emphasized that all fault lies with the predator and no fault lies with any of my family members.
“I am certain that this is a positive moment for me, and another step toward a brighter future.”
TLC commented on the alleged abuse in a statement to Us Weekly that read: “TLC was just informed about an alleged encounter that occurred years ago involving a third party connected to the production of Little People, Big World.
“We are saddened and troubled by this very serious allegation, and TLC will work cooperatively with the authorities. Our main focus remains on supporting the Roloff family during this very difficult time.”
Producer Chris has not acknowledged Jacob’s claims after working on the Oregon-based show for three years.
The TV staffer began his career as a segment producer for one season of Big Brother in 2000 and went on to become a field producer on Parking Wars and Fast N’ Loud.
However, it appears Chris abruptly left the industry in 2014 and has not worked on a project since.
Jacob hasn’t appeared on Little People, Big World for a number of years and has slammed the series in the past.
