Joseph Duggar accused his brother Josh Duggar of child molestation crimes years before he was arrested on suspicion of molesting a 9-year-old girl.
The 31-year-old, who was taken into custody on Wednesday for alleged crimes that occurred in 2020, spoke out against Josh’s sexual abuse of five girls, including sisters Jill and Jessa Duggar, on a December 2015 episode of “Jill & Jessa: Counting On.”
At the time, he said: “When the person you respect the most stands up and is willing to proclaim what we believe as Christians, which is to be faithful to your wife, you never think that person has anything to do with it.”
Josh expressed surprise that he had “lived such a secret life”, adding: “It broke my heart.”
Josh, 38, was arrested six years later on charges of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
The eldest son of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, who has seven children with wife Anna Duggar, was sentenced in December 2021.
The following year, Josh was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison.
He is currently serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Seagoville in Texas.
Joseph did not speak out against his brother during the trial, and at this point had stopped posting about his family life with his wife, Kendra Caldwell, and their children.
Notably, Josh’s alleged sexual abuse of a child while on vacation in Panama City Beach, Florida in 2020 occurred the year before.
Now 14, he “participated in the forensic interrogation” that led to Joseph’s subsequent arrest.
He was charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a victim under the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious acts with a victim over the age of 18.
Joseph “repeatedly asked (the victim) to sit on his lap,” and then asked the victim to sit next to him on the couch while he covered her with a blanket and touched her private parts, before apologizing and stopping, the complaint said.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office said the victim’s father met with Joseph on Tuesday, and the “19 Kids and Counting” alum confessed to the crime.
Page Six has confirmed that he will be extradited from the Washington County Jail to Bay County, Arkansas.
A family spokesperson told Page Six that the Duggars are not making a statement at this time.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call our Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.
