FormerĀ ‘19 Kids and CountingĀ Star‘ Joseph Duggar faces charges for allegedly committing a sex crime against a 9-year-old girl during a Florida vacation in 2020.
CONTENT WARNING:
Joseph was charged with “lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person 18 years or older,” as per the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
“The former TLC personality is now awaiting extradition to Bay County to face the charges. He was booked into the Washington County, Arkansas, jail on March 18 at 3:59 p.m. local time,” PEOPLE can confirm.
He was charged in connection with a child sexual abuse case involving a then-9-year-old girl who was on vacation with her family in Panama City Beach, Fla., in 2020.
The alleged sexual abuse occurred when Joseph allegedly asked the victim to sit on his lap. “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 victimās underwear and grazed her genitals. Duggar would also continue to rub his hands on her thighs,” Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.
“The victim stated Duggar eventually apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after the apology.”
The arrest was a result of the victim, now 14, participating in a forensic interview regarding a report of past sexual abuse. The victim’s father confronted his daughter’s abuser. Joseph “allegedly admitted his actions to the father and Tontitown detectives.”
Joseph Duggar is in police custody.
The Duggars aren’t strangers to sex crimes against children:
Joseph’s arrest comes nearly five years after his brother Josh Duggar was sentenced to more than 12 years for possessing child sexual abuse materials.
Josh, now 38, confessed toĀ molesting multiple young girls, including sistersĀ Jill (Duggar) DillardĀ andĀ Jessa (Duggar) Seewald, as a teenager.Ā
In May 2019, Josh used the “dark web and online file-sharing software” to download child sexual abuse material from the internet multiple times.”
In April 2021, Homeland SecurityĀ arrestedĀ Josh. Eight months later, Josh was found guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography.
He wasĀ sentencedĀ to 12.5 years and is serving his sentence at FCI Seagoville in Seagoville, Texas. As of now, Josh’s anticipated release date is in August 2032.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 for help.
