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Joseph Duggar, a former reality television personality known for his role on TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” is now facing serious legal trouble. He has been charged with child molestation in Florida, marking a troubling continuation of legal issues for the Duggar family. This development comes nearly five years after his brother, Josh Duggar, was convicted for possessing child sexual abuse materials.
Joseph Duggar, 31, was taken into custody in Arkansas, where he resides, and is currently awaiting extradition to Florida. The arrest affidavit from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Panama City, Florida, outlines the charge of lewd and lascivious behavior involving a child under 12 years old.
The case emerged after police in Tontitown, Arkansas, conducted an interview with a 14-year-old girl. She disclosed that Duggar molested her multiple times during a family vacation to Panama City Beach when she was just nine years old, according to the affidavit.
In a significant development, the girl’s father confronted Duggar about the alleged abuse. According to the affidavit, Duggar admitted to the actions during this confrontation. Tontitown police facilitated a follow-up call with the father, conducted with a detective listening in, during which Duggar reportedly confirmed his prior admissions.
As of now, there is no online court docket available in Florida concerning Duggar’s case, leaving it unclear whether he has retained legal representation. Attempts to procure comments from the Duggar family via their media request website have not yet received a response.
Police in Tontitown didn’t respond to inquiries made by email and phone.
TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” followed the lives of devout Baptists Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar and their 19 children, all of whose names began with the letter “J.”
TLC canceled the show in 2015 following allegations that Josh Duggar had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter years earlier. Josh Duggar’s parents said he had confessed to the fondling and apologized.
He was sentenced in 2022 to about 12 1/2 years in prison on one count each of receiving and possessing images portraying child sexual abuse.
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Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana contributed to this report.
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