Joseph Duggar spoke out after his brother Josh Duggar admitted to sexually abusing five girls, including his own family members.
News broke on Wednesday, March 18, that Joseph, 31, was charged with lewd and lascivious behavior involving molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older.
According to a press release from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, investigators were contacted by a detective from the Tontitown Police Department in Arkansas about a report of past sexual abuse. An alleged 14-year-old victim recalled several alleged incidents from 2020 involving Joseph when she was 9 years old. Joseph is currently awaiting extradition to Bay County.
Years prior, Joseph condemned Josh’s behavior after the older Duggar sibling, now 38, was accused of molesting five girls — four of whom were his sisters — when he was a teenager.
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“Whenever somebody you respect the most is willing to get up and proclaim what we believe as Christians, about being true to your wife, you’d never think that that’s the person who’s involved in it,” Joseph said in a 2015 episode of Counting On.
Joseph went on to express shock that Josh “was living such a secret life,” adding, “It broke my heart.”
Reality TV fans were introduced to the Duggar family in 2008 with the premiere of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting. The show followed Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar‘s large family and conservative lifestyle, but TLC canceled the series after Josh’s molestation admission. Spinoff series Counting On was subsequently canceled in 2021 after Josh was arrested on child pornography charges. He was later convicted of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
Josh originally apologized after being accused of molestation in 2015. He revealed that he’d previously sought counseling for his “wrongdoings” as a teen.
“Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret,” he wrote via the family’s Facebook account at the time. “I hurt others, including my family and close friends.”
Months later, hackers released stolen data from the website Ashley Madison, which led to Josh admitting he was unfaithful to his wife, Anna Duggar, after his account was exposed.
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“I brought hurt and a reproach to my family, close friends and the fans of our show with my actions that happened when I was 14-15 years old, and now I have re-broken their trust,” Josh wrote via his family’s website in 2015. “The last few years, while publicly stating I was fighting against immorality in our country, I was hiding my own personal failings. As I am learning the hard way, we have the freedom to choose our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences. I deeply regret all [the] hurt I have caused so many by being such a bad example. I humbly ask for your forgiveness. Please pray for my precious wife Anna and our family during this time.”
Josh and Anna remained married and expanded their family with seven kids. After Josh’s arrest in 2021, he pleaded not guilty and was later sentenced to 151 months in prison, which he is still currently serving.
Joseph, meanwhile, is currently married to wife Kendra Duggar. The couple wed in 2017 and share four children: sons Garrett and Justus and daughters Addison Renee and Brooklyn.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
