Joseph Duggar, a former reality TV personality known for his role in TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” is now entangled in a serious legal matter in Florida. Nearly five years after his brother, Josh Duggar, faced conviction for possessing child sexual abuse material, Joseph finds himself accused of child molestation.
Authorities apprehended the 31-year-old Duggar in Arkansas, where he resides, and he is currently awaiting extradition to Florida. The charges against him involve lewd and lascivious behavior with a child under the age of 12, as detailed in an arrest affidavit from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Panama City, Florida.
According to the affidavit, the case came to light when officers in Tontitown, Arkansas, reached out to Bay County deputies. They had spoken with a 14-year-old girl who alleged that Duggar had molested her multiple times during a family trip to Panama City Beach when she was just 9 years old.
The girl’s father confronted Duggar about these allegations earlier this week. During their conversation, Duggar reportedly admitted to the misconduct. Furthermore, authorities in Tontitown arranged for the father to call Duggar again in the presence of a detective, during which Duggar is said to have confirmed his actions once more, according to the affidavit.
At present, there is no online court docket available for Duggar in Florida, leaving it unclear whether he has legal representation. Efforts to reach out via the Duggar family media request website have not yet been answered.
Similarly, attempts to contact the Tontitown police through email and phone have yielded no response, leaving some details about the case shrouded in uncertainty.
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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