Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar have spoken out after their son Joseph Duggar’s arrest for child molestation allegations.
“Jim Bob and Michelle are heartbroken over this entire situation,” a spokesperson for the Duggar family tells Us Weekly in a statement. “Right now, they are focused on loving their family and helping Kendra and her children during this difficult time. They are praying for the victim. They ask for privacy and appreciate the kind words and prayers offered by so many.”
Us confirmed on March 18 that Joseph, 31, was arrested by the Tontitown Police Department in Arkansas amid accusations of abuse from a 14-year-old victim. She alleged that Joseph molested her multiple times during a 2020 family vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida, when she was 9 years old.
Per Florida police, the victim took part in a forensic interview where she described an alleged pattern of abuse by Joseph.
“The victim reported Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap,” Bay County, Florida, police said in a statement released on Wednesday. “As the vacation continued, he also asked her to sit next to him on a couch and covered them with a blanket. During this time, Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals. Duggar would also continue to rub his hands on her thighs.”
Bay County police recounted that Joseph “eventually apologized for his actions” and that “the incidents stopped after the apology.”
“Investigators discovered the victim’s father confronted Duggar about these incidents on March 17th, 2026. Duggar admitted his actions to the victim’s father and to Tontitown Detectives,” Florida police added.
Joseph was ultimately 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. He was transferred out of the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Friday, March 27, per police records. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Arkansas law enforcement released Joseph’s mugshot that same day, describing him as 5’9 and 206 lbs at the time of his arrest. In the mugshot, a bearded Joseph appears somber as he stares directly at the camera, wearing a dark gray T-shirt. As of publication, Joseph remains in custody in Arkansas ahead of extradition to Florida.
Two days later, news broke that the Counting On alum is charged with four additional counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, second degree, and four counts of second degree false imprisonment, alongside wife Kendra Duggar. Kendra, 27, was arrested on March 20 for the same charges and released on bond the same day.
“[Kendra’s] is a misdemeanor charge totally unrelated to the Florida case,” a rep for the Duggar family told Us at the time.
Fans of 19 Kids and Counting and its spinoff show Counting On watched Joseph grow up over the course of the TLC reality shows. Counting On chronicled Joseph’s courtship and eventual marriage to Kendra. (Joseph and Kendra share four children: Garrett, 7, Addison, 6, Brooklyn, 5, and Justus, 3.)
The deeply religious Duggar family are no strangers to public controversy. In May 2015, Jim Bob and Michelle’s eldest child, son Josh Duggar, publicly apologized when he was accused in a police report of molesting five girls, two of whom were his sisters, when he was a teenager.
“I confessed [my actions] to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation,” Josh said at the time. “We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.”
His statement went on, “I would do anything to go back to those teen years and take different actions. I sought forgiveness from those I had wronged and asked Christ to forgive me and come into my life. In my life today, I am so very thankful for God’s grace, mercy and redemption.”
Josh was forced to apologize once again in August 2015, this time for cheating on his wife, Anna Duggar, when he was identified as a client of the infidelity dating service Ashley Madison as part of a data breach. (Josh and Anna share seven children.)
“I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife,” he wrote at the time. “I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family, and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him.”
In 2021, Josh was convicted of receiving child sexual abuse material and sentenced to 12 years in prison. (Josh maintains his innocence and is actively appealing his conviction.)
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
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