Josh Duggar is fighting hard to appeal his brother Joseph Duggar, who was sentenced to 12 years for child pornography and is accused of unlawful sex with a minor.
After a series of unsuccessful appeals, Josh, whose release date from FCI Seago Building in Dallas, Texas, is December 23, 2032, asked the court in a May 2025 filing to provide him with new legal representation.
Josh claimed he lacked the resources, legal training and funds to hire an attorney, according to court documents.
The former “19 Kids and Counting” star’s request was denied by the federal judge in the case, but Josh was ultimately able to hire a Chicago-based attorney, according to court documents obtained by Page Six.
Page Six confirmed that Josh, 38, has a hearing in the case scheduled for April 15 in Fayetteville, Ark.
The father of seven children has maintained his innocence since April 2021, when he was arrested and charged with possessing and receiving child pornography.
After a two-week trial in Arkansas attended by family members from father Jim Bob Duggar to wife Anna Duggar, he was found guilty and later sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison.
Josh filed an appeal against the ruling in October 2022, but the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals denied his request for a new trial.
His lawyer at the time claimed that federal agents reportedly confiscated his cell phone when he tried to contact his lawyer during a raid a year and a half before his arrest. The attorney also claimed that Josh spoke to the agent without an attorney present.
The court rejected the appeal, explaining the decision in court documents: “When Duggar signed the form acknowledging his rights, he had his agent “…scrape away” the part that said he was “in custody.” Having revised his form, it became clear that he was free to leave.
“Dugger was sitting in the passenger seat of the investigators’ truck during the interrogation. They did not handcuff him, the doors were unlocked, and he entered and exited the front seat of the vehicle himself, meaning he remained free of movement throughout the encounter.”
The paper continued, “And even though investigators had ‘initiated contact’ with Dugger, he still ‘voluntarily acquiesced’ to questioning. In fact, he began the interview with his own question — ‘(h) Is someone downloading child pornography?’ and ‘continued the conversation’ with them for about an hour.”
“Finally, Dugger was not ‘arrested at the end of the investigation.’ Instead, he completed the interview himself and left the dealership, an unlikely option for someone in custody. ”
The Supreme Court then formally dismissed the appeal in June 2024.
On March 18, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office released a statement regarding Joseph’s arrest on Wednesday, and the Duggar family’s disgrace struck again.
Joseph was arrested and 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, according to the statement.
“On March 18, 2026, Bay County detectives were contacted by detectives from the Tonti Town Police Department regarding reports of past sexual abuse. The 14-year-old victim participated in a forensic interview during which she disclosed several incidents involving Duggar that occurred during a family vacation in Panama City Beach when she was 9 years old,” the statement said.
“According to the investigation, the incident occurred in 2020…The victim reported that Mr. Duggar repeatedly asked her to sit on his lap. As the vacation continued, Mr. Duggar asked her to sit next to him on the couch and covered her with a blanket. During that time, Mr. Duggar manipulated the victim’s underwear and grazed her genitals. Mr. Duggar also continued to rub his hands on her thighs.”
The victim said Joseph eventually apologized and the incidents stopped.
The statement continued: “Investigators discovered that on March 17, 2026, the victim’s father confronted Duggar about these incidents. Duggar admitted his actions to the victim’s father and Detective Tonti Town.”
Joseph was booked into the Washington County Jail in Arkansas on Wednesday. He will be extradited to Bay County, Florida.
Joseph is married to Kendra Caldwell, and the couple has three young children. They have largely lived out of the spotlight as they have not posted on social media since 2021.
He appeared on both TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” and “Counting On.”
